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THE 

MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 



By Kamar Al-Shimas 

Celebrated Persian Philosopher and Traveler 




An account of the author's wander- 
ings upon, and of the plants, animals, 
people, commerce and industries of 
the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. 



Illustrated 



Fowlor, Indiana 

BENTON REVIEW SHOP 

1922 






Copyrighted 1922 

By the Benton Review Shop 

Fowler, Indiana 



/ 




Printed in U. S. A 







NOV 20 V2 

CU690458 



y\^fr I 



DEDICATED 

TO 

EUNICE 

THE 

CHILD OF MY HEART 



TRANSLATOR'S FOREWORD. 

It is with a feeling of deep satisfaction that I lay down 
my pen upon having translated from the original Persian the 
last line of Kamar Al-Shimas' great work on southern Mex- 
ico; for not only is the field one hitherto uncovered by any 
writer, but the work itself is of sucli exceptional value, the 
author's insight into local conditions is so profound, that in 
making the translation I can not but think I have conferred 
a special favor upon all lovers of Mexico. 

As to the form of translation, I have thought it in the 
best interests of all concerned that it be phrased in the most 
approved modern diction, in a few places only, where the ex- 
pression was peculiarly happy, preserving the antique phrase- 
ology of the venerable author. In these few instances I feel 
sure a discriminating public will approve my action. 

Not much need be said on behalf of the original work, 
which speaks for itself. The field, as has been noted, is in 
large measure a new one. While the American reading public 
is annually deluged with a fresh assortment of books upon 
Mexico, these books are invariably either limited to the north- 
ern or central parts of the republic, or are superficial accounts 
of the whole country written by some globe trotter who has 
seen much and noted little. Only occasionally are as much 
as a dozen pages devoted to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. On 
the other hand the work of our master deals exclusively with 
southern Mexico, Nor is this its only merit; the author's 
style is in pleasing contrast with the flamboyant, would-be- 
witty style which characterizes so many travel books of the 
day. His words are packed with information and no attempt 
is made to hide a paucity of matter beneath a superabundance 
of phrases. 

VII. 



VIII TRANSLATOR'S FOREWORD 

It will be noted that certain of the chapters are written 
largely for those who are looking to Mexico as a field for in- 
vestment. It is now three years since the author left the 
Isthmus, but he has ever since kept up an extensive corre- 
spondence with friends residing there, thus keeping in close 
touch with the economic and commercial situation. Immedi- 
ately before the translation went to press a conference was 
had between us and all changes noted, so that, with one excep- 
tion, the reader has in the following pages an up-to-date sum- 
mary of conditions on the Isthmus. 

That exception relates to the matter of brigandage. At 
the translator's suggestion the author, for the purpose of 
making the narrative more vivid, has incorporated several 
accounts of bandit outrages. The bandit then loomed large 
upon the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, but let the reader not on 
this account assume that brigandage is a permanent institu- 
tion in those parts. Time was when Mexico was as well or- 
dered as any country in Europe, and under the able adminis- 
tration of the reorganized government conditions have been 
rapidly improving and it will not be long before brigandage 
is once more a thing of the past. 

While distinctively a travel book, the chief value of the 
work lying in the insight which it gives us into present-day 
conditions upon the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, its usefulness is 
greatly enhanced by the history of the Zapotec Indians re- 
counted in the last twelve chapters. This history cannot but 
prove of special value to the large class of readers who are 
interested in the legends and folk-lore of our Indian races. 

January, 1922. 

The Translator. 



FROM KAMAR AL-SHIMAS TO OMAR THE SON OF 
ABDULLAH. 

As I promised ere we parted at Ispahan, even that I would 
write thee concerning my wanderings and describe the strange 
lands through which I might pass, so now I am sending thee 
a full account of my life in southern Mexico, wherein it was 
my lot to sojourn during the year 1918 of the Christian era. 
In going to Mexico it was my intention to visit the various 
cities of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the State of Chiapas, 
but there is no Might and there is no Majesty save in Allah, 
the Glorious, the Great and my plans came to naught. Dis- 
turbed political conditions and the consequent difficulties of 
travel prevented my visiting Chiapas. But I had ample oppor- 
tunity to look over Tehuantepec, Salina Cruz, and the other 
cities of the Pacific plain of the Isthmus and to study the 
strange customs of the unbelievers who dwell in those parts. 
It was my habit to leave Salina Cruz and visit one of the other 
cities of the plain every Sunday (which is kept as a feast-day 
by the infidels) and thus I got me full knowledge of the land 
and its people, and lo, I have preserved it for thee, son of 
Abdullah, in the first ten chapters of the following work. The 
remaining twelve chapters are of a different nature, being the 
semi-legendary history of the Zapotecs as it is found in the 
works of Burgoa, Gay, Del Valle, and Gracida, and now for 
the first time translated from the original Spanish. 

KAMAR AL-SHIMAS. 



IX. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
SALINA CRUZ 
The approach — Northers — Fuel Oil — Population — Mexican character- 
istics — Festivals — The Marimba — Posada — San Benito's Day — 
Sharks — Goats — Burros — Cacti — The Pitaya 1 

CHAPTER II. 
QUIEN VIVE ? 
The Bandits — Troop trains — System of defense — Attacks on Salina 
Cruz and Tehuantepec — Use of bees in defensive warfare — Don 
Pepe instructs his mozos — La Brigada Carrera — Dodging bullets 27 

CHAPTER III. 
TEHUANTEPEC 
An agricultural center — Strategically located — Inhabitants — Archi- 
tecture — Brick-making — Homes of the poor — Churches — The 
light on Dani Lieza — Wretched dogs — Sultan — The city's water 
department 45 

CHAPTER IV. 
DON CARLOS DE SAN BLAS 
Buzzards and cacti — The cemetery at Tehuantepec — A deaf priest — 
The Plaza — Flower girls — A Tehuana dance — The rainbow 
women — An avocado orchard — Hedges — The mucilage berry — 
Ascent of Tiger Hill — The miracle-working church tower — Six 
coy Tehuanas — Good Friday in the Holy City — A passion play — 
Female finery — The Huipil Grande — John Story defends the 
pumps 58 

CHAPTER V. 
FARTHER AFIELD 
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec — The Gulf plains — The Central high- 
lands — Pacific plain — The seven rivers of the plain — A barbecue 
at San Bias — San Geronimo — A bull fight — Garfia Salinas pases 
as a bishop — Juchitan — A tragedy of Clipperton Island — Earth- 
quakes — Climate — Northers 73 

CHAPTER VI. 
THE PLANT WORLD 
The trees of the plain — Palo-Mulato or balsawood — Spanish oak — 
Lignum vitae — Dyes and dyewoods — The jecapezle — Lawn trees 
— The wild cotton tree — Flowering trees — The Amistad del 
Dia — The tree-killer — Fruits — Mangoes — The papaya — Anonas 
— The land of cool drinks — The great Mexican haw 95 

XI. 



XII TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER VII. 
ANIMAL LIFE 
A sportsman's paradise — Deer — Cats — Peccaries — Armadillo — A nov- 
elty seeker — ^Tapirs — Vampires — Birds — The zopilote — Sanates 
— The Chichilaca — Curassows — The frigate bird — Iguanas; a 
table delicacy — Alligators — Sharks — Insects — The plague of 
toads — Pearls 110 

CHAPTER VIII. 
THE INDIAN PEOPLES 
Few white people on the Isthmus — The Zapotec Indians — Division of 
labor between the sexes — Beautiful women — The Zapotec lang- 
uage — Costume — The wonderful Tehuana skirt — Honesty a na- 
tional trait — Intemperance — Sexual morality — "Red Men" — Edu- 
cation — Religion — The Huave Indians — Choque-Mixes — The Pin- 
ta— The Aztecs 119 

CHAPTER IX. 
TRANSPORTATION AND BANDITS. 
Railroads of the Isthmus — Outlaws attack train — Don Lemon escapes 
with his money — Mahoney makes his "getaway" — Terrors of the 
Vera Cruz al Istmo — The Pan American line — Plateau of Chia- 
pas — River traffic on the Coatzacoalcos — The bandits strip Don 
Alfredo — Traveling by balsa — The esteros of the Pacific shore — 
Transportation needs — Wagon roads — Postal service — The cable 
company — No telephones — Mexican hotels — The menu — Polite- 
ness at table 139 

CHAPTER X. 
INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 
Americans on the Isthmus — The wonderful Coatzacoalcos River — Op- 
portunities for foreigners in southern Mexico — Acquiring the 
Spanish language — Openings for investment — Banking — Stock 
raising — Hides — Indian corn — Don Jeronimo Mahoney — Beans — 
Chili pepper — Sugar cane — Coffee culture — Indigo culture — Rub- 
ber plantations — Sisal. Ixtle and Pita — Tobacco — ^Vanilla — 
Fruit culture — Bananas — The papaw — Pineapples — Coconuts — 
Bee culture — The lumber industry — Mining — Salt marshes — 
Onyx — Weights and Measures — Constitutional provisions affect- 
ing foreigners 159 

CHAPTER XI. 
RISE OF THE ZAPOTECS 
The Valley of Oaxaca — Civilization of the early Zapotecs — The na- 
tional capital — Present desolation of Zaachila — Accession of King 
Cosijoeza — Revolt of Loolaa — Vengeance of the Aztecs — Cosi- 
joeza takes Tehuantepec 196 

CHAPTER XII. 
THE DEFENSE OF QUIENGOLA 
Quiengola fortified — The siege begun — Nightly sallies — Salted Az- 
tecs — A bastion of skulls — Moctezuma proposes peace — Cosi- 
joeza conquers Soconusco — Ahuitzotl summons his wizards .... 203 



TABLE OF CONTENTS XIII 

CHAPTER XIII. 
THE QUEEN OF ZAPOTECA 

The Pool of the Marchioness — Coyolica comes from Anahuac — The 
sign of the birthmark — Alarii visits the Mexican court — Ahuit- 
zotl tries duplicity — Coyolica displays the sign — Coyolica 
brought to Tehuantepec — Marriage of Cosijoeza and Coyolica — 
The Zapotecs settle on the Pacific plain 210 

CHAPTER XIV. 

COSIJOEZA AND AHUITZOTL 

Ahuitzotl meditates revenge — Sends embassy to Zaachila — Constancy 

of Coyolica — Flight of the Embassadors — The Aztecs overrun the 

southland — Birth of Naatipa — Death of Ahuitzotl — Birth of Cosi- 

jopii — Birth of Pinopaa 220 

CHAPTER XV. 
THE MIXTEC REVOLT 
Cosijoeza plans the revolt — Cetecpatl's perfidy — Cuitlahuac routed in 
the Pass of the Serpent — His battles with the Sosoltecs — Regar- 
risons Huaxyacac — Returns to Tenochtitlan — Birth of the Prin- 
cess Donaji — Revolt of the three cities — The cunning Mitlans .... 229 

CHAPTER XVI. 
THE KING OF TEHUANTEPEC 
Education of the royal princes — Elevation of Cosijopii — His marri- 
age — Cosijopii departs for his new kingdom — Death of the prin- 
cess Pinopaa — Arrival at Tehuantepec — The cult of Pinopaa — 
The Inquisition — Mystery of the Guixepecocha — The priests con- 
sult Pezelao ". 240 

CHAPTER XVII. 
THE ZAPOTEC RELIGION 
The writer deprecateth the wrath of the son of Abdullah — The myth- 
ical Pecocha — He reforms the Zapotec religion — His disappear- 
ance on Monapoxtiac — Thought to have been the Chinese Fou 
Sang — Illusions of Gracida — The Zapotec pantheon — Pitao the 
Uncreated — The God of Abundance — Pezelao, the Oracle of 
Heaven — The Spirit of Evil — The voice from the enchanted cave 247 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
THE MOUNTAIN CATS 
Cosijoeza covets Cuilapan— Learns of the arrival of the Spaniards— 
A currier sent to Cosijopii — Cosijopii dispatches envoys to Zaa- 
chila — The embassy to Cortez — Capture of Zaachila by the Mix- 
tecs — Casandoo invades the territories of Tehuantepec — Cosijopii 
begs assistance of Cortez — Orozco marches to relieve the Zapo- 
tecs — He occupies Huaxyacac (Oaxaca) — An armistice 255 

CHAPTER XIX. 
PRINCESS GREAT SOUL 
Princess Donaji given as a hostage — Orozco besieges Ixcuiltepec— 
Donaji sends a messenger to Zaachila — Death of Donaji — A blue 
lily grows from her blood 265 



XIV TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XX. 
THE COMING OF ALVARADO 
Alvarado leaves Coyoacan for Oaxaca — Conquest of Tututepec — A 
chain of gold— Imprisonment and death of Casandoo — Spanish 
colony founded at Tututepec — Conspiracy against Alvarado — The 
Chontals — Alvarado visits Aztata and Quiengola — Arrival at 
Tehuantepec — Cosijopii visits the Oracle of Heaven — Alvarado 
and the Lord of Jalapa — Battle with the Chontals — "Conversion" 
of Cosijopii — Expeditions against the Chontals and Huaves — Al- 
varado returns to Mexico City 271 

CHAPTER XXI. 

THE PASSING OF ZAACHILA 

Death of Coyolica — Return of the Tututepecan colony to Huaxyacac — - 

Revolt of Tututepec — Marriage and death of Prince Naatipa — 

Death of King Cosijoeza — The son of Oconana ascends the 

throne — Abdication 286 

CHAPTER XXII. 
THE FALL OF COSIJOPII 
Cosijopii's generosity — Is stripped of his power — The priests of Mit- 
la — Cosijopii betrayed — His arrest — Rising of the people — The 
Tiing calms the multitude — He appeals to the CrovvTi of Spain — 
Judgment of the Royal Audience — Death of Cosijopii — An auto 
de f e — Remorse of Friar Bernardo — The children of Cosijopii . . . 294 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



A Plantation Scene Near Tehuantepec Frontispiece 

Facing Page 

The Isthmus of Tehuantepec X 

The Salina Cruz Harbor 4 

A Ship in the Salina Cruz Dry Dock 4 

A Birdseye View of Salina Cruz 4 

The Light House at Salina Cruz _ 12 

Main Street Salina Cruz 20 

The Principal Street in Salina Cruz 20 

The Salina Cruz Market is Enclosed. Few on the Isthmus are 20 

Salina Cruz and Vicinity - 28 

Savage Woman of the Mountains. Other Races of the Isthmus are 

Inferior to the Zapotec 36 

Church of San Sebastian Tehuantepec 40 

Cathedral of Santa Domingo, Tehuantepec 40 

Railroad Bridge and the City of Tehuantepec in the Background .... 52 

San Bias a Suburb of Tehuantepec 52 

A Chapel on the Hill, Santa Maria 60 

A Street Scene in Tehuantepec 60 

American Consulate, Salina Cruz 60 

A Little Tehuana in National Zapotec Costume 68 

Two Damsels of Tehuantepec in Gorgeous Tehuana Costumes 68 

Vegetation is Luxuriant Along the Waterways 76 

A Pastoral Scene on the Isthmus 76 

Lake Oaxaquena, near Santa Lucrecia 76 

The City Park at Juchitan, Lambimbo Trees in the Foreground 84 

XV. 



XVI LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

The Establishment of some of the Merchants are Quite Pretentious 84 

A Watering Station on the Great Transportation Route 92 

The Jaltepec River is a Beautiful Stream 92 

The Water Carriers of Tehuantepec 92 

Coconut Palms grow Luxuriantly on the Isthmus 100 

Headquarters of a Prosperous Isthmus Plantation 108 

A Banana Plantation 108 

Cultivating the Young Sugar Cane Plants 108 

Pelicans are Plentiful and Tame along the Coast 116 

The Bats are Another Scavenger, Attacking Humans as well as In- 
sects after Dark , 116 

Buzzards the Great Isthmus Scavenger, as tame as Domestic Fowl . 120 

Senor Bigote, the Renowned Gringo Viajero, Dressed to ascend to 

the Crater of Popocatepetl 122 

A Peon's well kept Home 124 

A Tehuana of the Upper Class in full Ruffled Skirt 132 

A Zapotec Girl from the Highlands Showing Wrapped Skirt 132 

A Bride of Tehuantepec, the Upper Garment is Evidently Derived 

from Old Spain 132 

A Street Scene in San Geronimo, Railroad Ties are an Article of 

Commerce 140 

A Sugar Plantation Railroad, a Substantial Affair 140 

The Primitive Cart and Oxen are the Common Means of Transpor- 
tation 140 

Bananas on their way to Market Down the River 148 

The Dry Dock at Salina Cruz, the Largest on the Mexican West 

Coast 148 

Mammoth Electric Cranes on the Wharf Make the Salina Cruz Har- 
bor Economical 148 

The Market Building at San Geronimo 156 

Little Tehuanas Accompanied by one of the Lords of Creation Who 

Lacks his Pants 156 

The Only Modem Brewery on the Isthmus, Some of Those Unused in 

the United States could be Moved Down 164 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XVII 

Cutting Sugar Cane Near Tehuantepec 172 

Sugar Cane Plantation Offers Big Business Possibilities, Young 

Sugar Cane on the Oaxaquena Plantation 172 

A Kind of Vehicle Very Common on the Streets 180 

A High Toned String Band on the Isthmus. Note the Headwear .... 180 

The Post Office and Telegraph Station 180 

Bananas are Often Carried from the Field 188 

In the Oaxaquena Sugar Factory Everything is Modern — Cane Un- 

loader at Work 188 

The Peons Working on the Sugar Plantations Have no Labor-sav- 
ing Tools. Loading Cane 188 

The Church of San Pedro Vixaana, Tehuantepec, The Men do not go 

into the Church and have an Awning for their Comfort 196 

The Church of the Laborio at Tehuantepec, The Palms form part of 

the picture 196 

Three Happy Flower Girls of Tehuantepec 200 

A Face of Mystery 204 

A Maiden of the Noble Zapotec Race 204 

Indian Maid with Jecapezle prepared to visit the Market 212 

Middle aged Zapotecs. Mango held on a Mango Fork, Readily 

handled 212 

Zapotec Beauty and American Gold 220 

A Middle Aged Zapotec Lady 220 

In the Suburb of Tehuantepec 228 

Another of the Numerous Churches of Mexico at San Geronimo, Te- 
huantepec - -. 236 

The Church of Juchitan .- 236 

Fair Face and Flowers, A Child of the Holy City 244 

A Happy Daughter of the Sun 244 

A Mountain Girl with Ancient Zapotec Costume -.. 252 

A Quarter Blood Italian and Zapotec Blooded girl with Pure white 

Skin 252 

A Rainbow Lady, the fan is used as protection against the sun 252 

A Florist of the Isthmus 260 



XVIII LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Living Flowers of the Isthmus 260 

Ruins of Mitla where Cosijoeza was buried 268 

Another View of Mitla Ruins the Seat of the Zapotec Ancient 

Splendor 268 

Butterfly Women 282 

A Rich Zapotec Maiden, Note the Jewels 282 

A Neat Little Tehuana 282 

Pancha, A Belle of Santa Maria 290 

A Tehuana in Middle life 290 

A Tehuantepec Maid Decked with U. S. Gold Coins 290 

A Full Blood Zapotec of San Geronimo 296 

A Zapotec Type with Elaborately Embroidered dress 296 



The 

Mexican Southland 



The Mexican Southland. 

Chapter 1 

SALINA CRUZ. 

AS your ship beats eastward along the southern coast 
of Oaxaca the scene continually changes yet is ever 
the same. Mountain succeeds mountain, seemingly 
without end, for you are coasting the Switzerland of America, 
the home of those rugged mountaineers, the Zapotecs who for 
so many generations successfully withstood the conquering 
armies of Tenochtitlan. Fold on fold the ridges sweep away 
toward the interior, rising ever higher to where on the distant 
horizon the mountain monarchs sit, their peaks rising to 
heights of ten and twelve thousand feet and bathed in that 
pearly light which renders the Mexican cordilleras so uniquely 
beautiful. 

From these mountains, after you pass Puerto Angel east- 
bound, transverse ridges stretch toward the sea, ending in bold 
promontories, and between each pair of promontories nestles 
a bay. The last of these headlands before reaching the plains 
of Tehuantepec are Salina Cruz and Ventosa points. Between 
them, partly sheltered from the northern gales, lies the port 
of Salina Cruz. 

The only natural feature of this port which is worthy of 
note is Salina Cruz Point, a bare granitic promontory rear- 
ing its head some two hundred feet above the sea. Capped 
by the harbor lighthouse, it is a thing of beauty, reminding 
one of the bleak coast scenes of the northland. Many a wave 



2 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

has it breasted, for when storm affhcts the Pacific the waves 
borne along by a strong southwest current fall upon it with 
fury and the sands of the sea are piled up its flanks to a 
height of over a hundred feet. This same current rounds the 
point and does not rest until it has carried its burden of sand 
on into the harbor, which is kept open only by continuous 
dredging. 

Some three or four miles to the northwest, between the 
Salinas del Marques (Saltflats of the Marquis) and the plains 
of Tehuantepec, runs a spur from the mountains of Oaxaca. 
At that point the crest is crowned by an immense block of 
phonolite which seen from the sea has the appearance of a 
house-chimney, while from the plains it resembles the headless 
bust of a woman. The Indians call this natural phenomenon 
Xunirahui, after a famous Zapotec woman of the olden time. 
A couple of miles southeast of this landmark the mountain 
ridge divides, one spur passing to the west of Salina Cruz and 
another to the east, terminating in the two points mentioned. 

Salina Cruz lies thus in an arid little basin surrounded 
by arid hills some five or six hundred feet in height, covered 
with stunted trees and gigantic cacti. The place is noted for 
the violence of its sand storms. Indeed for at least six months 
of the year, during fully three days out of ten the "northers" 
blow with frightful velocity, driving the sand in clouds and 
cutting the streets to the bare rock. The trees in the public 
park are canted over to the south at an angle of forty-five de- 
grees, and when the wind blows no one ventures abroad with- 
out automobile goggles. 

It is a mercy that the northers do blow, for Salina Cruz 
lies on the sixteenth parallel and when the winds cease to blow 
the weather quickly becomes torrid. Ladies rarely move about 
before nightfall. Strange to say, while in the cooler regions 



SALINA CRUZ 3 

of the central plateau women wear hats, on the Isthmus, where 
they need them more, a hatted female is never seen. The ordi- 
nary head covering is a thick veil, the manta or reboso, which 
is no protection whatever against the scorching sun. When 
the poor creatures find it necessary to go abroad in the heat 
of the day they often make a picturesque but pitiable attempt 
to shield themselves from the sun's rays with the indispensable 
fan or a tiny parasol. Poor things, they are still in bondage; 
almost as much as though their feet were bound like those of 
the heathen Chinese. The hat, in the days to come, shall be 
their liberator. 

The basin in which the city lies is absolutely barren. 
Neither water nor food products are obtainable in the near 
vicinity. The city's waterworks are located at Tehuantepec, 
twelve miles distant, whence an abundant supply of crystal 
pure water is pumped to Salina Cruz. Everything in the na- 
ture of fruit and vegetables is also brought from Tehuantepec. 
All night long bull carts laden with produce wend their way 
toward the port to provide the next day's supply of food. Were 
this traffic interrupted for forty-eight hours, a state of famine 
would exist at Salina Cruz. 

It is a new town. A half century back, when the members 
of the Shufeldt expedition visited the place, it was a mere 
hamlet of some half dozen huts. The Indians of pre-Castilian 
times did not navigate the seas and required no ports, and the 
single port of Acapulco sufficed to meet the needs of New 
Spain. 

Salina Cruz is the work, not of nature, but of man. It is 
the work largely, I am almost tempted to say solely, of the 
great English house of Pearson and Son, which built the rail- 
road across the Isthmus and constructed the gi'eat harbor 
works at Puerto Mexico and Salina Cruz. The port works at 



4 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Salina Cruz consist of an outer and an inner harbor, of 138 and 
69 acres, respectively, separated by a wharf 3,300 feet in 
length. On this wharf are six immense warehouses, each 420 
feet in length by 105 feet in breadth; floor space of each, 
44,100 square feet. The outer entrance to the harbor is 600 
feet in width and the inner entrance 100 feet. Two cantilever 
bridg-es span the latter, permitting the movement of cars along 
the whole length of the water front, while eighteen electric 
cranes on the track next the inner basin facilitate the prompt 
loading and discharge of cargo. The normal tides are four 
feet, increased to six feet when the south wind blows. At low 
tide there is thirty-two feet of water alongside the wharves. 

Salina Cruz is one of the very few points on the Pacific 
coast of North America where ships can bunker with fuel oil. 
The oil is brought by train from Minatitlan on the north side 
of the Isthmus and stored in a 46,000-barrel tank, whence it 
is led to ship's side by a pipe line. The pipe line runs half the 
length of the wharf, thus enabling three ships to take oil at 
the same time. 

Connecting with the inner harbor is one of the best dry- 
docks on the Pacific coast, while there are over twenty-five 
miles of terminal tracks on and in the neighborhood of the 
wharf. 

These port works were completed in 1908. At that time 
the Panama Canal was still unfinished, the Tehuantepec route 
afforded the cheapest transportation from the Orient and the 
islands of the Pacific to the Atlantic seaboard, and profound 
peace prevailed in Mexico. No sooner was the port completed 
than the Hawaiian Islands began to ship their enormous sugar 
output via the Hawaiian-American steamship line and the 
Tehuantepec Railroad to New Orleans and beyond. The harbor 
was full of freighters, the population of Salina Cruz grew by 






A Bird's-evf Vit-v of Salm;! <'!-uz 




SALINA CRUZ 5 

leaps and bounds, from a mere fishing village to a city of six 
thousand souls, and no less than eighteen trains entered or 
departed from the place daily. 

But the prosperity of the place was short-lived. In April 
of 1914, coincident with the occupation of Vera Cruz by Amer- 
ican forces, the "Gringos" fled from the Isthmus, and they 
have not returned. Meanwhile the continuance of disturbed 
conditions within the country, the opening of the Panama 
Canal, and the disturbance of commerce occasioned by the 
great war in Europe, have combined to prevent the resumption 
of traflfic on the Isthmus. 

Salina Cruz is very quiet today. There is some inbound 
movement of sugar from Salvador and Peru and tobacco from 
Tepic, and some coffee moves outbound from Chiapas through 
Salina Cruz to San Francisco ; but other traffic there is none. 
Public opinion is pessimistic. It is felt that the Tehuantepec 
route can never compete with the Panama Canal. This is 
doubtless true, yet I am satisfied that when normal conditions 
are restored this route will still be able to command a fair 
share of through traffic ; and with that restoration, and with 
her fecund soil and gracious climate, the population of the 
Isthmus should multiply twentyfold and her local traffic in- 
crease accordingly. 

Nor should we forget that there is no port south of Salina 
Cruz to the Guatemalan border, a distance of over two hun- 
dred miles, nor any suitable port to the north short of Mazat- 
lan. Although Acapulco possesses one of the finest natural 
harbors in the world, it is inaccessible from the interior ; and 
Manzanillo, the next port to the north, is unhealthy and lacks 
space for development. For these reasons Salina Cruz is 
destined to remain, what it now is, the second port of the west 
coast of Mexico. 



6 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Such was the Salina Cruz which I visited in December of 
1917. The city itself lay a half mile back from the port. 
Grouped about the business center were the establishments of 
the principal merchants of the place, while a block further up 
the main street we passed on our right the station of the Cen- 
tral and South American Cable Company, picturesquely perch- 
ed on a high rock which at that point jutted from the hills 
which confined the city on the east. A little further on we 
came to the public school just beyond which, on opposite sides 
of the street, were the post office and the American consulate ; 
the latter a two-story building surrounded with broad piazzas 
and embowered in flowering trees. 

Diagonally across from the consulate lay the little park 
where the elite of Salina Cruz congregated nightly for the 
evening promenade so characteristic of Latin life. A broad 
walk bordered the park and there in the cool of the evening, 
their beauty half revealed and half concealed by the electric 
lights, the belles of the town foregathered and promenaded 
under the watchful eyes of their elders. A difficult trysting 
place you may perhaps think, yet this was the recognized 
courting place of the town. All the young gallants were there, 
tipping their hats, politely accosting the young ladies as they 
passed, and exchanging covert glances. This is about the 
limit of which courting is permitted among the upper classes 
of the tropics, and yet I doubt not but that the young people 
have adjusted themselves to these conditions and get just as 
far as their northern cousins do with their freer manners. 

This evening function is not at all exclusive. True, only 
those of the upper class promenade, but the seats adjoining the 
walk are always filled with Indian men and women of the lower 
class, who seem to extract as much enjoyment from the 
pageant as the elite themselves. 

A block beyond the consulate we come to the Hotel Salina 



SALINA CRUZ 7 

Cruz, the town's leading hostelry. Here, except for short trips 
to Tehuantepec, San Geronimo, and other cities of the vicinity, 
I abode during my year's stay on the Isthmus. A detailed 
description of the hotel is given further on in our narrative ; 
suffice to state at this point that I was careful to choose a 
room on the north side of the building, that most remote from 
the business center of the town. 

As will appear later on, I had a canny reason for making 
this choice. The city cuartel or barracks was situated near 
the municipal center. Whenever the bandits, rebels or revo- 
lutionists — a species of individuals fairly numerous at that 
time — staged an attack on the town it was their custom to 
enter by detachments through the defiles of the surrounding 
hills, converging upon the cuartel. As soon as the garrison 
became aware of their approach a hail of lead belched from the 
cuartel and any civilian so unfortunate as to occupy a room 
with windows opening toward the cuartel was apt to be found 
by a stray ball. But the writer, sitting on the floor of his 
bedroom with three solid hotel walls intervening between him 
and the scene of operations, could smoke his pipe and await 
the outcome with philosophic equanimity. 

At that time Salina Cruz was the only point at which 
travelers coming from the central plateau could secure pas- 
sage to the west coast of South America. The only ships reg- 
ularly carrying passengers to South America were those of 
the Japanese line, which only touched at Salina Cruz every 
second month; with the result that travelers were often de- 
tained at the hotel for several weeks. Early in the summer 
three individuals with whom I was destined to become inti- 
mately acquainted blew in from the plateau. Mr. Peter Alli- 
son of San Luis Potosi was on his way to Peru to take up his 
duties as superintendent at the Cerro de Pasco mine, and he 



8 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

had with him a tall Swede named Abrahamson and a young 
Scotchman whose surname I have forgotten, but whose first 
name was Angus. With that readiness to confer titles peculiar 
to the tropics we forthwith dubbed them Don Pedro, Don 
Abrahamson, and Don Angus. 

Our friends were delayed many weeks awaiting ship. 
Presently time began to hang very heavily on their hands and 
they vented their spleen, as men will under such circumstances, 
upon the devoted republic in which they were unwillingly 
sojourning. Don Angus was the loudest in his complaints. 
He differed from any other Scot I have ever met in that money 
would not stick to him — in fact Don Pedro informed me that 
he could with difficulty prevent him from spending his last 
cent — but he was a typical Scotchman in being frank to 
bluntness. 

"When the devil is that ship ever going to put in her ap- 
pearance?" he would exclaim. "Here we are, marooned in 
this miserable hole with every avenue of escape cut off. No 
escape by sea, or by land either, for the whole country is 
literally alive with rebels and bandits. It's Peru for me ; Peru, 
where they have no revolutions and where the natives tumble 
over one another to favor a Gringo !" 

At that time, the three dons were the only English-speak- 
ing guests at the hotel, but I, who have a ready knowledge of 
that tongue, could see from the worried looks of our fellow 
guests that they understood enough of the language to know 
that Peru and Mexico were being compared to the detriment 
of their own country. So when Don Angus got too uproarious 
I would take up the cudgels for Mexico, dwelling upon its 
salubrious climate and the urbanity of its people. But I never 
got far with this line of talk. Don Pedro and Don Abraham- 
son invariably came to the support of their companion and 



SALINA CRUZ 9 

listening to them it was not long before I began to picture 
Peru as a veritable paradise. 

After having sung the glories of Peru for a full month 
their ship came into port and the three dons took their depart- 
ure. I verily never expected to see them in this world again^ — ■ 
nor, since they were unbelievers, in the other world either. 
What, then, was my surprise when, four months later and a 
few minutes after a northbound Japanese liner had entered 
port, the hotel entrance was darkened by no less a personage 
than the redoubtable Don Pedro of San Luis Potosi. The wild 
Scot was at his heels. 

"Well, well! What brings you fellows back so soon?" I 
asked as we shook hands. "You have barely had time to go to 
Peru and return." 

"That's where you're right," Don Pedro responded. "We 
had barely reached Cerro de Pasco when the thin air at that 
high altitude — you know it's 14,000 feet above sea level — got 
the better of me and I had to beat it for the coast. Barely 
reached there in time to save my life. And Abrahamson met 
with an accident and smashed his ribs, and Angus was totally 
disgusted with the country. Take it from me, we're mighty 
glad to see the shores of good old Mexico once more ; eh, Angus, 
my boy?" 

"I should say we were," responded that young man. "Mex- 
ico looks good to me. Seems like home to be back in a civilized 
land once more." 

All that day and evening they sang the glories of Mexico, 
nor was there a word said of the "revolutions," "vile climate," 
and "beastly winds" of the Isthmus. It was neither the first 
nor the last occasion upon which I have known men's thoughts 
to color their surroundings. In the morning they took their 



10 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

departure for San Luis Potosi and a few days later Abraham- 
son, landing from the next boat, followed in their wake. 

The city's present population does not exceed three thou- 
sand souls, of which at least two-thirds are full-blooded In- 
dians. There are not more than two hundred pure whites, 
and of these the Europeans and Americans do not exceed a 
score, all told. There are small colonies of Syrian ('Turco") 
and Chinese merchants. The remainder of the population is 
mestizo. This latter term is misleading, for the Mexican does 
not follow the three-fold classification of population universal 
in works upon Mexico. To him there are but two classes, white 
and Indian, the mestizo (mixed blood) being accounted white. 
His viewpoint is correct, for the mixed blood almost invari- 
ably adopts the dress, customs, language, and ways of think- 
ing of the white man. The mestizo, in these parts at least, 
is very dark, almost as dark as the Indian, but he is an Indian 
in no other respect. 

Much has been written about the bad traits of the mestizo. 
I cannot speak for other parts of the Republic, but at Salina 
Cruz I found him in no respect inferior to the other elements 
of the population. Many of the best people were of mixed 
blood. 

One will wander far before finding a people as polite and 
gracious as the Mexicans. And their politeness is not a mat- 
ter of training, as with us; it is inborn, innate. The self- 
consciousness of the Teuton is not present. Nothing is more 
common than to see a little child of three years, upon being 
introduced into a circle of her elders, make the round of the 
company, extending her hand and bidding each a pleasant 
"Buenas tardes" without the slightest shade of embarrass- 
ment. The smallest urchin on the streets, if asked his name, 
gives it without the least hesitation, always adding "servidor 



SALINA CRUZ 11 

de usted — ^your servant" — where your American boy would 
suck his thumb and look silly — and the poorest Indian on the 
trail expects to be politely accosted in passing. 

Some weeks after taking up my residence in Salina Cruz 
I arose early one morning for a walk before breakfast. Pass- 
ing up the Tehuantepec road I ascended the hill which over- 
looked the city from the north. I had gained the summit and 
was beginning to descend the north slope when I perceived an 
Indian approaching me. He was carrying a naked knife in 
one hand. The blade was easily eighteen inches long and had 
a sharp point. Frankly, I did not like the looks of that knife. 

I was unarmed. There was no one in sight and I must 
admit that a creepy feeling came over me. Fortunately at 
this juncture I bethought me that Allah appointeth all things 
and that it is not permitted unto any mortal to die until the 
Day written in the Book, else had I turned tail and fled; in- 
stead of which I screwed up my courage and approached him 
with every appearance of unconcern. My fears were ground- 
less. 

"Muy buenas tardes, senor — A very good morning, sir," 
he said, doffing his hat politely. 

He stuck his knife in the ground and producing a package 
of cigarettes, offered me one. In Mexico an offer of cigarettes 
is considered essential when gentlemen meet. I reciprocated 
the honor by striking a match and holding it to his cigarette, 
and then we seated ourselves on the ground for a social chat. 

My new acquaintance was a man past sixty, a denizen 
of the little town of Huilotepec, a village on the lower course of 
the Tehuantepec River plainly visible from where we sat. All 
his life long, he said, he had been a charcoal burner, making 
charcoal in the neighborhood of Huilotepec and carrying it on 
his back all the way to Salina Cruz, there to be sold in the mar- 



12 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

ket as fuel. I agreed with him that it was a hard life. Alas that 
it is so ! The Indian is the burden bearer of Mexico ; he pro- 
duces all that is produced, and that by the most primitive and 
laborious methods, and then receives a mere pittance for his 
toil. 

After a time the old man arose, saluted once more with 
the air of a hidalgo, and picking up his knife passed up the 
hill towards Salina Cruz. As regards the knife, it should be 
explained that the knife is the tool of all work in Mexico. 
With his machete or corn knife the Indian clears the jungle, 
cuts his crops, and builds his humble habitation. The ax is 
practically unknown, even firewood being cut with this primi- 
tive tool. 

While we are upon the subject of Mexican politeness it 
may be stated that in that land the episode "After you, my 
dear Alfonse" is enacted hourly. Whenever several gentle- 
men approach a gate or door together — and in Mexico every- 
one of the male sex is a gentleman — there is a great to-do, each 
insisting that all the others enter before him, and it is gener- 
ally several minutes before anyone can be prevailed upon to 
take the lead. 

The old Spanish exclusiveness has largely disappeared; 
the old proprieties have been appreciably relaxed. This will 
not be so evident to the newcomer, owing to a peculiar cus- 
tom. Whereas with us a gentleman waits to be accosted by a 
lady, in Mexico the contrary rule prevails; the gentleman 
speaks first. Until the newcomer grasps this he naturally 
imagines that the lady to whom he has been introduced and 
who passes him the next day without favoring him with a 
glance, is, to say the least, somewhat distant. But as soon as 
he has learned the way of the land he will find her the reverse 
of reserved. Indeed, the total absence of reserve and the readi- 











The Lig-hthouse at Salina Cruz 



SALINA CRUZ 13 

ness of total strangers, of either sex, to extend the hand of 
fellowship whenever given an opportunity is one of the great- 
est pleasures of that tropical land. 

No matter how many times a day they meet, they stop 
and shake hands, repeating the action ere they part. There 
is no sham about this ; they are at heart kind and sympathetic, 
and many a strong friendship one makes among this 
people, once one learns their ways. 

The Mexicans are a very democratic people. The poor 
Indian may have but a limited conception of political matters, 
but it is otherwise with the upper and middle classes. What- 
ever difficulties they may have experienced in governing them- 
selves, they are all out and out democrats. There are really 
no class distinctions and royalty or monarchy would not be 
tolerated for a moment. 

To understand the Mexican one must visit Mexico. I well 
remember the conception I formed of the Mexican when as a 
child I conned books of travel and adventure in the seclusion 
of my father's harem. It was that of a great tall fellow with 
immense black mustachios and snapping black eyes, who, if 
offended, crept stealthily upon his enemy and struck him from 
behind with a huge dagger. This I have found to be the 
general impression throughout the world outside of Mexico, 
and when I went to that land I was even warned not to tamper 
with the affections of any of the fair sex, as, if crossed in 
love, they would carve a man's heart out without mercy. 

How far from the truth! You will search far and wide 
to find the Mexican of your dreams. Big mustachios are rare 
and at least a third of the people of pure white blood, and 
many of mixed blood, have gray eyes. Nor is the use of the 
knife common. The Mexican of the Isthmus, when he does 
resort to arms, prefers to settle matters with the revolver or 



14 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

rifle. During a year spent at Salina Cruz, I do not recollect 
hearing of a single assassination by stabbing with a dagger or 
short knife ; and I am sure the gentle maidens of the Isthmus 
would be the last creatures in the world to settle matters with 
the knife, even though there, as elsewhere, there are bad men 
who richly deserve such a fate. 

The Mexican is gay, artistic, dramatic. Several amateur 
plays were put on the boards while I was at Salina Cruz which 
would have put many a professional troupe to shame. They 
are great lovers of music. Every town boasts a fine band, 
pianos abound, and that sweet Central American instrument, 
the marimba, is much in evidence. 



The social life of the Mexican centers in the ball, held 
every few nights at the home of one or another of the principal 
citizens. Would you see the pleasure-loving Mexican at his 
best you must go to the ball. The guests begin to arrive about 
nine o'clock; and such a scene! The Mexican knows how to 
dress. No foreigner with twice the means can dress with 
half the taste. The young men look like fashion plates; the 
"chicas" are dreams. They dance and dance, until three or 
four o'clock in the morning. But not always, for now and then 
rumors spread, and that not infrequently, that the rebels are 
about to make a descent upon the town. Now it is custom ot 
the rebels to make their little friendly visits about nine at 
night, and when a raid is expected the good people begin their 
dance at four in the afternoon (on Sunday, of course), and 
close at the early hour of eight, so as to beat the rebels to 
their homes. 

I have referred to the marimba, the musical instrument 
most esteemed in southern Mexico. It is preferred by the 
votaries of the dance, having greater volume than the piano 



SALINA CRUZ 15 

and being infinitely sweeter. The marimba somewhat resem- 
bles the zylophone, but is much larger. It consists of bars of 
wood giving the chromatic scale, set over wooden resonators. 
Four players are required, each provided with two sticks 
tipped with balls of rubber. Some day this wonderful instru- 
ment will take its place in the United States alongside the 
piano and organ. That four players are necessary probably 
accounts for the fact that its use has not spread more rapidly. 
Attempts have been made to provide it with a keyboard, but 
so far without success, the keyboard marimba lacking the 
exquisite ring of the simple instrument.* 

The posada is a great institution in Mexico, as I presume 
is the case in all Spanish-American countries. It begins nine 
days before Christmas, being held one night at each of the 
principal houses. All the upper-class people go, and when 
they have assembled each of the young ladies and girls is given 
a candle and they stand with their lighted candles outside the 
closed door of the house singing the posada song, which relates 
to the time when St. Joseph and the Virgin were hunting for 
lodgings at Bethlehem. 

When the song is finished they are admitted to the house. 
In the corner of the room, all sparkling with tinsel and lights, 
is a miniature representation of the Manger and the newly- 
born Christ Child. After the young people have sufficiently 
feasted their eyes upon this scene they betake themselves to the 
porch to try their luck at the Piilate. The Pinate is a paper 
effigy suspended from the ceiling of the porch and stuffed 
with all sorts of goodies. One by one the children are blind- 
folded and, armed with a good stout staff, take turns in trying 
to strike the Piilate. Finally someone hits him fair, splitting 
his hide, and down comes a rain of confectionery; then there is 

*Tuxtla Gutierrez is a leading center for the manufacture of ma- 
rimbas. 



L 



16 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

a great scrimmage and everyone is happy. The remainder of 
the nig-ht is now devoted to dancing, which of course was not 
a feature of the posada as it was anciently celebrated. But I 
suppose the people are not as religious as they once were. 

The Church no longer holds the position it formerly 
occupied in Mexico, possibly for the reason that for many 
years the government has viewed its activities with a jealous 
eye. Religious processions no longer play the part they did 
of yore, being prohibited by law. Indeed, the civil authorities 
seem to have been over severe with the ministers of religion, 
not even permitting priests to appear upon the streets in dis- 
tinctive costume. Hence the anomaly that in a country the 
people of which remain even today, nominally at least, over- 
whelmingly Catholic, a cassock is never seen on the streets; 
the clergy, like the Protestant ministry of the United States, 
being indistinguishable from the mass of the community. So 
strict is the law in this respect that even the clerical collar, 
vest, and dickey or "prep's bib" are banned. The bishop, or 
rather vicar apostolic, of the neighboring town of Tehuantepec 
evaded this restriction by wearing an ordinary layman's vest 
and, as he was the only person on the Isthmus so attired, it 
served to indicate quite effectively the fact that he was a gen- 
tleman of the "cloth," 

Religion was at a low ebb at Salina Cruz. Although a 
place of 3,000 inhabitants it had but one church, and that a 
small one on a back street; but small as it was it appeared 
ample for the religious needs of the community. Often of a 
Sunday morning I have stood at the church door — I swear 
before Allah and his Apostle, I entered not in — watching the 
priest as he celebrated mass, and never on such occasions did I 
see more than fifty persons present. Men of consequence never 
darkened the church door. A few ladies there were, the wives 



SALINA CRUZ 17 

and daughters of two or three public spirited families who 
still believed that, come what might, the Cross must be upheld, 
but the remainder of the congregation was composed of bare- 
foot Indians of the lower class. 

But let us turn again to the amusements of Salina Cruz. 
On New Year's Eve they have another great time, a big ball, 
and when the clock strikes twelve they all stop and begin to 
hug one another and clap one another on the back. Sometimes 
a little fellow will throw his legs about a big man's waist and 
the big man will run about the room with him, each pounding 
the other on the back. 

At one time it was the custom of the army officers to 
attend ball with loaded revolver on hip, and a most grotesque 
figure these fierce captains and colonels cut as they whirled 
about armed to the teeth. You may be sure the civilians 
treated them very gingerly. After a time some order must 
have been sent down from above, for the practice was happily 
discontinued. 

Sometime in the spring — I think it was on San Benito's 
Day — ^the children had another festival. This time it was at 
the church. At the appointed hour the children filed up to the 
church, each bearing in its arms some pet animal; a hen, a 
cat, or a rabbit. Little dresses had been made for the pets 
and they were gaily decorated with ribbons. The priest held 
a children's service and solemnly blessed the animals, and then 
the children trooped home supremely happy. 

The second Sunday in May is a sort of local holiday, it 
being the custom of the Tehuanas* to come to Salina Cruz at 
that time each year and bathe in the sea. Many come the day 

*Tehuana; properly, a woman of Tehuantepec. But the term is 
loosely applied to all the Zapotec women of the Pacific plain. 



18 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

before so as to be on time, and by the following morning there 
is a great concourse in town, all tricked out in their gaudiest 
raiment. 

At ten o'clock we went down to the waterfront to see 
them bathe. Their customs are slightly peculiar; they are not 
troubled with an excess of false modesty. They bathed in the 
outer harbor and the women went down into the water in 
their chemises, but the men merely went along the beach a 
few rods and stripped naked for bathing. All the beach for 
a mile or so was thronged with bathers, and they seemed to 
be having a very good time after not having seen salt water 
for a year. 

They were not the only bathers, however. We stood on 
the great pier which forms one side of the outer harbor. As 
we looked on we saw four great dark objects moving to and 
fro just under the surface of the water about three hundred 
feet from the bathers. After a little we saw gigantic fins 
thrown up out of the water. The sharks were taking a bath 
too. I fear they also had their eyes upon the Tehuanas and 
if the latter had ventured out too far would have made short 
work of them. 

I may state, in passing, that these seas are alive with 
sharks. My neighbor, Garfia Salinas, had established a shark 
industry on an island near Tonala. According to him there 
were tens of thousands of these monsters in the shallow waters 
surrounding the island. Shagrene, the tough skin of the shark, 
was once of great value; but emery paper has largely taken 
its place. However, there is still great value in the shark. 
Shark oil finds a ready market, from its fins glue is made, 
and the residue of the carcass is readily converted into fer- 
tilizer. The catching of sharks will in time become a lucrative 
business. 



SALINA CRUZ 19 

But to return to our description of Mexican festivals. 
On September 16, 1918, it was my good fortune to join with 
the good people of Salina Cruz in celebrating the 108th anni- 
versary of the independence of Mexico. Just one hundred and 
eight years before, at the village of Dolores in what is now 
the state of Hidalgo, the parish priest Hidalgo raised the 
standard of revolt against the Spaniard. 

Salina Cruz put on festal attire to celebrate this great 
event. A grand civic procession was the principal feature of 
the day. At ten o'clock in the morning we assembled at the 
presidencia (town hall) where the procession was formed. A 
brass band led the way, followed by several hundred school 
children marshaled in order. Then came the obreros (work- 
men) with their banner of blue. Next, and forming the lead- 
ing feature of the procession, came several floats bearing cer- 
tain of the prettiest seiioritas of the town, typifying the God- 
dess of Liberty, Law, Equality, Etc. 

One young woman was rigged out in featherwork, Poca- 
hontas style, to represent the conventional Indian maiden. 
Strange to say, she was about the only pure white girl in the 
whole procession, the bronzed complexions of most of the 
others indicating a liberal admixture of Indian blood, though 
they would have been the last to see the joke; for, as I have 
said, everyone there having a drop of white blood in his or 
her veins, and dressing in European costume, is accounted 
white. She was very beautiful and had I not had, by permission 
of the Prophet, four wives at home in Persia, she might have 
found favor in my eyes. 

We were delayed for some little time by the tardiness of 
Justicia, a circumstance which occasioned no little merriment. 
As a Mexican friend slyly observed: "You know Justice is 
somewhat slow in Mexico." But she finally put in her appear- 



20 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

ance and took her place in the rear of the other civic virtues, 
whereat the crowd laughed uproariously. Another brass band 
followed; then three little damsels dressed respectively in 
green, white and red, the national colors ; and the procession 
closed with a group of functionaries, the presidente, the cap- 
tain of the port, the members of the consular corps, and other 
worthies. 

They marched the length of the principal thoroughfare, 
then back on the next street, all reeking with sweat, but no one 
heeded that, for they were bubbling all over with patriotism. 

The day closed with a grand ball at the Hotel Salina Cruz. 
This was to have kept up until four o'clock in the morning, 
but closed at one, it being rumored that rebels were approach- 
ing to attack the town. 

The difficulty was that the garrison was rather small. 
There were seldom more than fifty men at the barracks, all 
told. Of course there was a colonel, a major, a captain, and 
a lieutenant or two, and four or five musicians; so that the 
number of privates was rather limited. They were good sound 
fellows as a rule and many of them not lacking in courage; 
but struck me as poor material for campaigning, barefooted as 
they were and poorly armed. Their rifles were of all sorts 
and descriptions. Only the officers were uniformed and 
booted. They possessed no commissary, such a thing being 
unknown in Mexico. Eveiy soldier is married, or at least 
keeps a woman who accompanies him on his campaigns, and 
cooks the food which he purchases from his daily allowance. 

The Mexican soldier is hot blooded, especially when in 
drink, and quarrels are frequent. One night the colonel gave 
a banquet at the hotel. Along toward the end of the feast 
the colonel and major quarreled. They straightway betook 
themselves to the patio of the hotel and drawing their pistols 



SALINA CRUZ 21 

began to fire ; but having had a little too much wine, neither 
was able to hit the other though they were standing not more 
than twenty feet apart. While they were indulging in their 
little pistol practice, the dignified gentry of the town who were 
guests at the banquet were lying prone on their stomachs 
under the table. 



The site of Salina Cruz is confined, the basin in which the 
town is situated being not more than a mile and a half long 
by three-fourths of a mile in breadth; and even this space 
is broken by spurs from the hills, cutting off portions of the 
basin from the general area. A considerable district to the 
north of the town proper is known as the Espinal, while the 
Costarican consul dwells in solitary grandeur in a little cove 
known as the Barrio Juarez. Many of the huts of the poor 
climb the slopes of the adjoining hills, and these are popularly 
known as "las hormigas" (The Ants). It is said that this 
custom of building up the hillsides is to some extent prompted 
by the belief that sooner or later a tidal wave will sweep in 
upon Salina Cruz, when those who dwell on the hillsides will 
alone be saved. One building so situated bears the suggestive 
sign "La Area de Noe" (Noah's Ark) . 

Never a year passes but these hills surrounding Salina 
Cruz gaze down on some strange tragedy. Early one morn- 
ing my Indian servant came to me with the report that during 
the night the soldiers had captured and executed a bandit. 

"He is now hanging in the shrine on the hill north of 
here," said the excited peon. "Better have a look at him be- 
fore he is cut down." 

"Impossible, Juan," I replied, "the soldiers wouldn't hang 
a man without trial." 



22 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

"Maybe not," he answered with a grin, "but anyway that's 
what they've done. You can see him from the doorway." 

I stepped to the door. Straight north of the town, a half 
mile distant on the hillside and at the end of the principal 
street, a simple shrine had been erected in time past. It had 
but three walls, being open to the weather on the side facing 
the city. By the early morning light I could distinguish some- 
thing white against the darkness of the shrine's interior. 

"See him?" said Juan. 

"Yes, I see him," I replied, "but possibly it's not a bandit. 
May be Don Jeronimo or one of my other friends, shot by 
mistake. They don't hang around the hotel as closely as I do 
and there is no telling when one of them may be potted. I'll 
go take a look at the remains." 

Breakfast would not be ready for another hour, so I 
donned my hat and set out for the shrine. A fifteen minute 
walk brought me to the spot and I was much relieved to find 
the defunct a stranger. Poor fellow, he was not a bad-looking 
Indian but he had evidently fallen into evil ways. Hanging 
by a short rope from a crosspiece of the shrine, he swung 
gently in the breeze, a salutary warning to the good people of 
Salina Cruz to be circumspect in their ways. 

The rearing of goats is one of the principal industries of 
Salina Cruz. They are kept at night in corrals in the Espinal 
and among the hormigas, and every morning the streets are 
full of these picturesque creatures about to be driven up into 
the hills. There is no grass in the hills, nothing but cacti and 
stunted trees, and it is a mystery how the goats find a living; 
but they do. These goats are great climbers, as they need to 
be to escape starvation. I recollect one day seeing two of them 
away up on the side of a steep cliff where no man could by 
any possibility have climbed. While I was considering how 



SALINA CRUZ "^ 23 

they were ever to get down, one of them turned and made the 
bottom of the cliff at a run. She knew better than to attempt 
to walk down. 

Upon several occasions, while strolling through the hills, 
my eye caught sight of what in the distance appeared to be 
white-clad Indians standing among the trees; a disquieting 
sight where the presence of bandits made it unsafe to stroll 
beyond the crests of the hills overlooking the basin. But closer 
observation invariably converted the supposed bandits into 
harmless goats, standing perfectly upright with their forefeet 
gently touching the trunks of the trees while they fed upon 
the branches. 

The milk of the goat is made into a cheese which is much 
relished by the natives and in normal times goat hides are one 
of the chief articles of export. 

Mexico is a land of glaring contrasts. Medieval conditions 
exist side by side with evidences of the most advanced civiliza- 
tion. Salina Cruz is typical. Here we find port works con- 
structed at a cost of many millions of dollars, the best dry- 
dock on the Pacific coast between Balboa and San Francisco, 
and a splendid railway terminal. The upper class is cultured 
and refined, pianos abound, and the nights are one gay round 
of music, dance, and wine. But the schools of Salina Cruz 
are limited to the first four grades, the place has no telephone 
system, automobiles are unknown, there are but two public 
and no private carriages in the town, but thirty-five private 
letter boxes at the post office, and the place's supply of fuel 
is brought in over rough mountain trails on the backs of men 
and burros. It is no uncommon sight to see a woman enter 
town with twenty pounds of charcoal on her back and leading 
a burro bearing his burden. 



24 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

There is not a book store in Salina Cruz, nor, so far as 
I am aware, is there one in any of the cities of the Isthmus. 
All books are ordered direct from Mexico City. 

The automobile of this region is the burro; the tiny 
donkey dwarfed by centuries of privation. All the firewood 
needed for cooking is brought into town on the backs of 
burros ; a burro bearing two bundles, each about as large as 
his poor little self. He is a proverbially patient creature, 
which stands well in hand; but occasionally he gives vent to 
a most dolorous bray. When the poor fellow's daily task is 
over he is turned loose to shift for himself on the surrounding 
hills. 

My favorite walk while at Salina Cruz was to the crest 
of the hills to the east of the town. A bracing breeze always 
sweeps across the hilltops, no matter how sultry it may be in 
the basin below, and to the east the eye wanders over fifty 
miles of hillock and plain and lagoon to the blue mountains of 
the dividing range. I never tired of gazing upon that scene. 
In the middle distance, like a great silver shield, lay the Upper 
Lagoon, from whose center rose the mystic isle of Monapox- 
tiac. And on that island was the Enchanted Cave, fane of 
dead civilizations, where in the dim past the Indian had ques- 
tioned the Soul of the Universe. Often I planned to visit that 
cave, but the intervening plains were infested by bandits and 
I was never able to make the trip. 

It mattered not what hill one ascended, he always found 
a footpath at the top, for it is the custom of the Indian footman 
in coming to and going from market to follow the skyline, 
where the air is ever fresh and he can keep a sharp watch 
against a possible holdup. The sagacious burro also un- 
doubtedly made use of these paths, it being a very common 
occurrence on ascending a hill to find a lone burro on the very 



SALINA CRUZ 25 

peak. This seemed to be a favorite resort of the burro, but 
whether sought to enjoy the scenery or to escape his master, 
I know not. 

The cacti are the most conspicuous plants hereabouts. I 
noticed four species as I strolled among the hills : The prickly 
pear with its great flat "leaves;" a similar blue-green cactus 
of more upright growth, the tender young leaves of which are 
used for food; the tiny dwarf cactus; and the giant Organ 
cactus. The latter grows to a great height, the best specimens 
being generally found in the deep ravines which score the 
sides of the hills. I saw several in such places with trunks a 
foot and a half in diameter and branches rising to a height of 
from twenty to twenty-five feet, like the pipes of some grand 
cathedral organ. Sometimes when the natives wish to make a 
hedge they fell one of these great cacti, cut it into lengths, and 
plant the lengths, and in three or four years they possess a 
hedge for which the numerous burros, pigs, and half-starved 
cows which infest the locality have the profoundest respect. 

In spring and early summer the cacti blossom. The 
prickly pear has a beautiful yellow flower and so likewise has 
the dwarf cactus, the blossom of the cactus with the edible 
leaves is of the brightest pink, while forth from the pipes of 
the organ cactus spring magnificent snow-white flowers as 
large as saucers. 

None of the four species mentioned bear edible fruits in 
that latitude, but there is another giant cactus, cousin to the 
Organo, very common in places, which in the spring bears a 
luscious fruit known as pitaya. This fruit is globular and 
about two inches in diameter. On splitting a pitaya open a 
pulpy substance of the consistency of raspberry jam is dis- 
closed and, strange to say, it is of the same purplish color and 



26 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

its flavor reminds one of the raspberry. A half dozen of these 
purple globes split open and sprinkled with sugar make a 
dessert fit for a king. The pitaya colors the urine red. 



Chapter II. 
QUIEN VIVE? 

THANKS be to Allah, the Lord of all creatures, who 
hath not shortened my days but hath permitted me 
to live on, because the Appointed Hour is not yet 
come. In very sooth I sometimes thought, what time I abode 
upon the Isthmus, that the Day was at hand, more especially 
when I heard upon the lips of the people those words of evil 
omen, "Quien vive?" What meant they, ask you? Verily, my 
brother, this thy servant at first marveled mightily and was 
sore bewildered on hearing those words and beholding the civil 
commotions which followed in their wake. But Allah All-Wise 
hath revealed to me the meaning thereof, even as I shall now 
reveal it to thee. 

During the period of my sojourn on the Isthmus political 
conditions were very unsettled in Mexico. The arms of the 
Constitutionalists had prevailed over the enemy in the open 
field, and practically every railway station throughout the 
Republic was garrisoned by federal troops ; but seven years of 
civil strife had bred the usual progeny of outlaws and the 
country back from the railroads was everywhere infested by 
bands of rebels and brigands. 

On the Pacific plains there was no considerable number 
in arms against the government; Tehuantepec, Salina Cruz, 
San Geronimo, and Juchitan were garrisoned; the trains 
moved on regular schedule; and the casual traveler might 
easily persuade himself that peace prevailed. But this im- 
pression would involve ignorance of local conditions. Every- 

27 



28 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

where life was safe only in the larger towns, and only meas- 
urably so there. The whole country was a fortified camp. 

There was no rebel army in the field, but the woods were 
infested by numerous small bands of bandits. I use the term 
advisedly, because it was not always easy to tell their actual 
status. Some of them were mere robber bands, but the greater 
number seemed to be composed of rebels owing a loose 
allegiance to Felix Diaz, whose headquarters were said to be 
in the mountains far to the north toward Vera Cruz. The 
bandit element was being constantly reinforced by disaffected 
elements from the towns. Their bands were composed of 
diverse elements with nothing in common save hostility to the 
government. There was the officer whose peculations had 
become too notorious for even the easy conscience of Mexican 
officialdom, the man whose property had been confiscated or 
whose daughter had been carried away, the fellow who simply 
loved the lawless life of the bush, and the earnest Felicista 
who fought upon principle for the restoration of the ancient 
regime. 

Trains moved only by daylight, leaving one terminus at 
four or five in the morning so as to reach destination by night. 
They were all mixed trains, and very much mixed, a typical 
train embracing an engine, a baggage car, two passenger 
coaches, perhaps a half dozen freight cars, and two or three 
armored cars filled with troops. 

Even this protection was not considered sufficient, every 
train being accompanied by an "exploradora" or troop train. 
The exploradora originally preceded the regular train, hence 
the name ; but, as the rebels frequently permitted the explora- 
dora to pass and, when it had rounded a curve and disappeared 
in the jungle, held up the train, the process was reversed and 
the exploradora has since followed after. 




b 



QUIEN VIVE? 29 

As a rule none of the townspeople ever thought of leaving 
the security of the town, except by rail. The Indian might 
bring in produce, but the city people did not wander far from 
the secure shelter of their houses; and often and again have 
I been warned against visiting points not a mile from the 
town center. 

The system of defense adopted by the Mexican garrison 
is peculiar. At the intersections of the principal streets they 
build little fortines or blockhouses, about twelve feet square 
and capable of holding five or six soldiers. The stranger 
acquainted with the elaborate fortifications of other lands 
will wonder of what service these little affairs can possibly 
be. And yet they are well adapted to the system of street 
fighting there in vogue. Pitched battles are not the rule. The 
rebels enter the town at nightfall, sneaking through the alleys 
and less frequented streets and striving to get as near as pos- 
sible to the town center, where the barracks are always located, 
before being discovered. The main object of the garrison, on 
the other hand, is, as soon as the rebels are discovered, to 
get into the fortines and keep the streets free from members of 
the attacking party. 

As the year advanced we heard more and more of rebel 
depredations. They attacked Juchitan and San Geronimo, and 
Tehuantepec was attacked upon several occasions. The Indian 
populations of these towns though outwardly loyal to the gov- 
ernment were said to secretly sympathize with the rebels. 
Their brethren, the Zapotecs of the mountains to the north- 
west, were in open rebellion, and there was no communication 
between the Isthmus and Oaxaca City, the state capital. Armed 
bands held all the passes and the rebel general Zuriaga held 
his court at Santa Maria de Guiniagata. 

But Salina Cruz was supposed to be safe from attack, 



30 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

"The rebels will never try to take this place," my friends 
assured me. ''During all these seven years of revolution the 
town has never been attacked, nor will they be foolish enough 
to try it now." Their belief seemed well founded. Salina Cruz 
was a seaport and a Mexican or American gunboat might put 
in an appearance at any time ; and besides, the Indians of the 
place were not natives of the Isthmus, but had been brought 
thither from all parts of Mexico when the great port workr 
were in course of construction. Finally, the town was isolated 
geographically, lying among barren sand hills at a distance 
from the inhabited parts of the plain. 

But it is hard to figure on the vagaries of the genus rebel, 
and my friends were mistaken. About the first of September 
a small detachment of rebels entered the place at nightfall. I 
was in the American consulate at the time, conversing with 
an English lady who wished to take the Japanese liner for 
Valparaiso. While we were talking we heard what we at first 
mistook for firecrackers ; but I remember finally going to the 
window and saying, "It sounds almost loud enough for shots, 
doesn't it?" 

The lady prepared to leave and went out to the porch, but 
came back immediately, saying, "Why, I don't understand it. 
I had my porter place my portmanteau in the porch and bade 
him remain until I had seen you. He has disappeared." 

I sent my man with the lady to look up another porter. 
Shortly afterwards I heard the sound of "firecrackers" again, 
and this time went out to the porch to learn what was up; 
but when I reached the porch all was silent. Shortly after 
they returned with another man who took up the portmanteau, 
and we all set off for the water-front. As we proceeded the 
lady said: "Why, do you know, we came near being shot a 
few moments ago. There were rebels or something of the kind 



QUIEN VIVE? 31 

in town, and all kinds of shooting. One ball passed right by 
my ear." After I had seen the lady to the ship I hastened back 
to the upi)er end of the town and on inquiry learned that six 
or eight armed rebels had entered the town, but had been given 
such a warm reception that they promptly decamped. 

I knew that from that hour the place was no longer safe. 
Having escaped scott free they would come again unless the 
garrison was promptly reinforced. But the military author- 
ities failed to grasp this and no reinforcements came. 

Two weeks later I took the train for Tehuantepec, the 
first town inland from Salina Cruz. There was to be a bull 
fight there and a Malinche dance by the Huave Indians, and 
Don Carlos — Mr. Charles A. Parkins, a Jamaican beekeeper 
of that place — had come down expressly to persuade me to go 
over with him to attend the doings. As we came into the 
station I saw the exploradora ready on the side track. We 
boarded the train and she put out of the station as if to take 
the lead; but at a signal from the exploradora we backed up 
and permitted her to go ahead. This admitted of but one ex- 
planation; there was trouble ahead. 

It was a run of twelve miles to Tehuantepec. We reached 
Santa Maria, on this side of the Tehuantepec River, and 
stopped. The exploradora moved on to the bridge head. Then 
the fun began. The rebels opened fire from the further side of 
the river and in reply smoke belched from the armored cars of 
the exploradora. 

The rebels had thrown obstructions upon the track and 
had set fire to the woodwork of the bridge. Fortunately the 
bridge was a steel structure and they were unable to put it out 
of commission in the limited time at their disposal. After a 



32 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

short interval the exploradora moved forward into the city 
and our train took its place at the bridgehead. 

From there we had an excellent view of the fight. Before 
us lay the city plaza, the near side of which was occupied by 
the market, a huge structure the roof of which was supported 
by massive brick pillars. Tehuantepec was the district capital 
and upon the south side of the plaza fronted the district build- 
ing or palacio del gobierno. The government troops had left 
the exploradora, relieved the garrison which was besieged in 
the palace, and with its aid were chasing the rebels over the 
hills back of the town. 

When our train finally reached the plaza of Tehuantepec 
we alighted and set about investigating the incident. The 
rebels, to the number of about a hundred, had entered the town 
about six in the morning and taking possession of the market 
had opened fire upon the palace. They succeeded in killing one 
of the defenders and wounding the officer in command, and 
would probably have taken the palace had it not been for the 
timely arrival of the troop train. 

But that is a large "if," for the rebels knew that the train 
was coming and was overdue, and they had taken no effective 
measures to prevent its arrival, though that meant certain 
failure for them. Had they removed a rail six or eight miles 
up the track they could easily have delayed the arrival of rein- 
forcements for several hours. But that was not to be thought 
of, since it would have involved considerable work. Their 
ideas of warfare were limited to firing, Indian fashion, from 
behind columns and stone walls. 

Whether any of the rebels were injured is unknown. But 
as Don Carlos and I made our way from the scene of combat 
toward his residence some blocks to the northeast, in passing 
the cathedral premises we saw a man lying in a pool of blood 



QUIEN VIVE? 33 

just outside the cathedral gate. On approaching we learned 
that he had just been shot by the soldiers. Another lay just 
inside the gate. Both were breathing their last. They had 
been arrested some days before and had apparently been 
executed as a salutary warning to rebel sympathizers. 

We passed on to the residence of Don Carlos, a corner 
building about a block from the cathedral. We entered and 
seated ourselves. Don Carlos wrinkled his eyebrows omin- 
ously. After a little he unburdened his heart. Nearly every 
night, he said, a party of rebels would come to his corner and 
he could hear them outside discussing plans to attack the gar- 
rison which occupied the cathedral house and adjoining mon- 
astery. Sometimes the rebels knocked at his door and de- 
manded admission. He was afraid they would break in sooner 
or later. He possessed a shot gun but had only two rounds 
of ammunition. The prospect was not reassuring. 

Now Don Carlos was in the bee business and had several 
hundred hives of bees in his patio or house court. It occurred 
to me that here lay a way out of the difficulty, "That should 
not trouble you in the least," I remarked, "All you need do is 
fix a hive of bees against your door every night, and should the 
rebels break in, so much the worse for them. The bees will 
give them a warm reception." 

Don Carlos was pleased with my plan, and after that 
before going to bed always set a hive upon a shelf near the top 
of the door. Thus fortified he slept the sleep of the just. This 
is the first instance where, to my knowledge, bees have ever 
been used in defensive warfare. 

It was perhaps a week later, about eight o'clock in the 
evening, that Morley Hurst (an employee of the cable com- 
pany) and I were sitting on the commodious porch of my hotel 



34 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

drinking lemonade. A file of perhaps thirty men came along 
the side street from the direction of the church. Some of them 
were armed, and as they reached our street and began to cross 
it, I fancied that the others shifted their blankets as though 
they were carrying concealed weapons. 

"What do you make of that layout?" said Hurst in an 
undertone. "Well, I hardly know," I replied. They were very 
quiet. Besides, I recollected that the commander of the gar- 
rison had boasted to me of having organized a company of 
volunteers from the peons of the town. "Perhaps it is the 
comandante's voluntarios out for practice." 

We were not long kept in suspense for the next moment 
they passed us at a dog trot, crouching low and hugging the 
wall. As they passed one of them turned toward us and mut- 
tered beneath his breath: "Viva la Sierra," the battle cry of 
the Indians of the mountains of Oaxaca. He said it in the 
most friendly manner, but it was enough; we immediately 
went inside. I glanced over my shoulder as we entered. They 
had sprung into the middle of the street and were rushing at 
full speed toward the center of the town. We bolted the door. 
Not ten minutes later hell broke loose. They had attacked the 
garrison. 

For the next two hours we remained cooped up in the 
hotel while pandemonium reigned without. The garrison had 
plenty of ammunition and spent it without stint. To the south 
of us the rattle of musketry was incessant, the volleys fired 
by the garrison, generally high, passing over our heads into 
the Espinal beyond, and falling with the vengeful whine of the 
Mauser ball. 

Hurst and I at first kept close to my room. But we soon 
discovered that we ran little risk in the hotel, which interposed 
several walls between us and the flying missiles, and moved out 



QUIEN VIVE? 35 

into the court. We lit our pipes and sauntered about, pessi- 
mistically discussing the revolution in all its phases. We had 
almost become resigned to our fate when Don Pepe and Don 
Poncho, the proprietors of the hotel, put in their appearance. 

"Well, Don Pepe," said I, "a fine evening, eh?" "Mil 
diablos — a thousand devils," said Don Pepe, "these Indians 
are very bad. What if they take the town? We have been 
hiding in the cellar. I don't understand the way you fellows 
take it. You don't seem at all excited." 

Whereat we smiled loftily and were puffed up with con- 
ceit. But if the naked truth must be told it was but a matter 
of training. Pride of race constrained us to conceal, even 
from one another, the misgivings of our hearts and put on 
a bold face; and this is called courage, forsooth. 

After a time we heard a detachment from the garrison 
charge past into the Espinal. It seemed another band of 
rebels had come in and occupied that quarter. Wild oaths, 
shrieks, and more rifle shots. One would imagine from the 
uproar that men were being slain by the hundred. Then 
the scene evidently shifted. The fight was raging in the Barrio 
Juarez ; then among the hills to the M^est of the town. By ten 
o'clock the firing began to slacken as the rebels, their ammu- 
nition exhausted, fled over the hills. 

As soon as the management was satisfied that the fight 
was over the lights were switched on and we gathered in the 
cantina, as the bar-room is called in Mexico, to discuss the 
situation. Hurst wanted to leave at once for the cable sta- 
tion ; in coming over to the hotel he had left only women there 
and was anxious to assure himself that no harm had befallen 
them. At least that was his excuse for wanting to go. As a 
matter of fact Hurst was a fearless sort of fellow and appar- 
ently had not the least conception of the danger which lurks 



36 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

in flying bullets. But I stoutly objected to his leaving the 
building, representing that in the darkness of the night some 
excited soldier was apt to take his white clad form for that of 
a bandit and pot him without further ado ; and the proprietors 
cinched the matter by refusing to undo the door. So he abode 
with us the night. 

The next morning I accompanied Hurst to the scene of 
combat where we learned that the attack was far better 
planned than we had supposed. While the force which we had 
seen was attacking the garrison from the north, another band 
had seized the cable office. This building occupies the crest 
of a hill overlooking the plaza and commanding the heart of 
the city. From it the rebels poured down a withering fire 
upon the cuartel. Had they had sufficient ammunition the 
town would have been at their mercy ; but from the traces left 
after the battle it seemed they had but fifteen or twenty rounds 
each. 

After counting the bullet holes in the cable building and 
figuring out the direction from which they had come — always 
a pleasant diversion on the day after an attack — we visited the 
British consul's residence a few yards to the rear of the cable 
building and somewhat further up the hill. The women of the 
place said they were up stairs when the bandits came and 
the first intimation they had of their presence was a loud rap 
at the door below. On one of them going down stairs she was 
accosted by a bandit, who informed her that he and his com- 
panions were about to seize the cable building and open fire on 
the cuartel, and politely suggested that she close the doors — 
which were open — and keep within during the engagement. 
It would certainly be difficult to find more considerate bandits 
than those of southern Mexico! 

Despite all the powder which had been burned during the 




Savage Woman of the Mountains. Other races of the Isthmus 
are Inferior to the Zapotec 



QUIEN VIVE? 37 

attack, the total casualties amounted to two killed and two 
wounded, and these were civilians who had foolishly ventured 
out upon the streets ; not a single combatant was injured. Both 
sides were careful to keep behind stone walls, in which position 
and in the obscurity of the night they were fully as safe as 
the citizens within doors. 

Don Pepe had profited by the night's experience. Imme- 
diately after breakfast he lined up the male servants and pro- 
ceeded to put them through a drill designed to prepare them 
against the day of trouble. 

I should explain at this point that in Mexico a sentry 
does not say "Who goes there?" but "Quien vive?" that is, 
"Who lives?" 

"Now," said Don Pepe, "if an armed man challenges you, 
what do you say." 

"Vive Carranza — Long live Carranza," replied a peon. 

"Carramba! but the man might be a rebel and then he 
would shoot you !" 

"Well," again ventured the peon. "Then I would say 'Vive 
la Sierra — Long live the Mountain'." 

"Wrong again," replied Don Pepe, "for he might be a 
Carrancista, in which case you would also be shot. No, the 
proper thing is to always say 'Vive Mexico,' that will pass 
with either side." 

This sage advice led to a story. Once upon a time a China- 
man who had always lived in town went out into the country 
and was challenged by a rebel outpost: "Quien Vive?" He an- 
swered "Vive Carranza," whereupon the rebel fell upon him 
and beat him unmercifully and for a finish gave him a kick, 
sending him upon his way with an admonition to never be 
guilty of such an offense again, but always say "Vive la Sierra" 
when challenged. 



38 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Sometime later the Chinaman set his face towards home. 
When he reached the outskirts of the town he was halted by 
a sentry who put the usual question ''Quien vive?" to which 
the Chino responded, "Vive la Sierra." He was immediately 
seized, his hands were bound behind him, and he was hustled 
off pell mell to the municipal jail, with a solid kick at every 
step to accelerate his progress. Nor did he escape from dur- 
ance until the last centavo had been wrung from him. 

He stepped forth from confinement a sadder but a wiser 
Chino. In fact he had been doing some pretty hard thinking 
while in jail, and the next time he was challenged by a sentry 
he answered in pidgeon Spanish, "Tu vivas pimelo — You viva 
first." 

Meanwhile the spirit of disaffection was rife at Tehuan- 
tepec. One evening a general from Acapulco disembarked at 
Salina Cruz with several officers. The next morning he took 
the early train for San Geronimo. Three officers, a colonel, 
a major, and a captain, who had been out late the night before, 
overslept and were left behind. Fearing a reprimand, they 
hustled about and after some dickering arranged with a couple 
of peons to take them to San Geronimo on a hand car. 

Reaching Tehuantepec they stopped off to drink coconut 
water and chat with the Tehuanas. They spent a pleasant 
half hour in this manner. It was their last drink. Death 
was swiftly preparing for them while they loitered. They 
resumed their positions on the hand car and started on their 
way. Not a mile from the station they were riddled by shots 
from the thicket bordering the right of way. 

This occurred on Thursday. On the following Saturday 
a major proceeded from Tehuantepec to San Geronimo, ar- 
rested three merchants of that place, and brought them back 



QUIEN VIVE? 39 

with him to Tehuantepec. He then arrested three others of 
the latter place. That evening he informed the person in 
charge of the street-lighting service that he was expecting a 
rebel attack and asked him to turn off the power, which was 
done. 

The town shrouded in darkness, he directed that the six 
prisoners be taken to an unfrequented point on the river 
bank, where they were frightfully tortured with knives. Then 
nooses were thrown about their necks, the other ends of the 
ropes were tied to the tails of horses, and the poor devils were 
dragged to death. Their bodies were buried in the sands by 
the riverside, but so illy was the work done that they were 
dug up by the dogs on the following day.* 

This sinister deed cast a pall over Tehuantepec. The in- 
habitants were oppressed with fear and after nightfall the 
streets were deserted. Many in fact did not deem it safe to 
remain in the city at night and a number of the leading citizens 
for better protection began the practice of going to Salina Cruz 
on the evening train, remaining there over night, and returning 
to Tehuantepec the next morning. These worthies were 
dubbed the Brigada Carrera (Car Brigade) by the local wits. 

One of the favorite diversions of the good people of Salina 
Cruz consisted in meeting the train when it came in at night. 
It was a picturesque gathering ; the fierce warriors of the gar- 
rison, gaily-dressed Tehuanas, and all the pretty simpaticas 
of the place were there. After endless signalling and whis- 
tling, in came the train, and no sooner had it come to a halt 
than out jumped the doughty members of the Car Brigade, 
headed by the redoubtable Don Carlos Parkins and the orbic- 
ular Dr. Martinez of Apizaco. 

*This outrage seems to have been an act of private revenge on the 
part of the major, who fled the same night immediately after the perpe- 
tration of the fiendish deed. He was subsequently captured and when 
last heard of was confined in a military prison. 



40 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Now at the time whereof I write no newspapers were 
printed in that part of Mexico. All the newspapers in circu- 
lation were published in Mexico City and these of course con- 
tained no local news. Thus it came about that news was 
gathered in the good old way in vogue the world over a thou- 
sand years ago. Gossip was news and the traveler was the 
principal newsvender. I developed long ears in those parts. 

No sooner had Don Carlos and the doctor and their worthy 
companions of the Brigade alighted from the train than the 
dissemination of news began. Not with a blare of trumpets 
by any means. The military maintained, or endeavored to 
maintain, a strict censorship and it was inadvisable to speak 
too loudly. But everyone was anxious to learn what was 
going on, and it was surprising how rapidly every scrap of in- 
formation spread in whispers through the community. 

Once again the rebels descended upon Salina Cruz. Night 
had fallen and I had just left the consulate for the hotel, only 
a block away. I had taken but a few steps when the enemy 
opened fire just back of the park and seemingly not a block 
from where I stood. By the beard of the Prophet, it was a 
delicate position, and candor compels me to admit that I stood 
not long upon the order of my going. One thinks rapidly in 
such moments. I perceived on the instant that the hotel, 
though the more remote, was the safer place of the two, and 
set off for it at top speed, dodging bullets at every jump. 
Verily I was without fear, but I acted upon the American 
principle that discretion is the better part of valor. 

I came in sight of the hotel entrance. The doorkeepers, 
who had been reared amid revolutions and understood well 
their business, stood ready to close the doors the instant the 
last civilian had entered. There was a mad rush for the doors. 



QUIEN VIVE? 41 

The last soul entered and I was still some distance away. The 
doorkeepers prepared to swing the doors, whereat I managed 
to bawl out, "Hold, locos, can't you see me coming." They 
paused and the next instant I made the entrance. Praised be 
Allah who hath appointed my death-day from the beginning, 
I had not suffered a scratch. 

I hastened through the hall and into the patio. Here a 
unique sight met my eyes. There they were, all of Don Pepe 
and Don Poncho's guests, every one of them standing as stiff 
as pokers with their backs to the wall. And there they stood 
for some fifteen minutes, while the rifles cracked without. I 
charge you to remember, son of Abdullah, and it may stand 
you well in hand should you ever have the good fortune to visit 
southern Mexico, that revolution on the Isthmus has been re- 
duced to a science and has its fixed laws, one of which is that 
the safest place during an attack is with back to wall. 

The attack was soon over; in fact, it was a mere feint, 
possibly a ruse to draw the garrison into the hills. 

Following this attack the government strongly reinforced 
the garrisons at Salina Cruz and Tehuantepec, and open at- 
tacks on the towns ceased. Matters now assumed a new phase. 
Numerous arrests had been made and many persons executed 
as suspects, generally on the evidence of some informer. The 
rebels, no longer strong enough for open attack, now drew up 
a list of the informers, whom they marked for destruction. 
The method of disposing of their victims was characteristic. 

Every two or three days a band of six or eight rebels 
would enter the suburbs of one of the towns, search out their 
man, and slay him; — a venganza. Sometimes they led him out 
into the woods, sometimes they slew him under his own roof ; 
but wherever the scene was so remote from the town center 
that they felt certain of making good their escape before 



42 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

arrival of the garrison, the victim was taken out and shot in 
a public manner before the people of the barrio. Then the 
rebels would flee over the hills or into the underbrush, mount 
their waiting- steeds, and gallop away. 

Sometimes these acts of vengeance were perpetrated at 
night, sometimes in broad daylight; and as a rule the slayers 
escaped scot free, for the garrison, being few in numbers, 
was ill disposed to leave the town center, I remember upon 
one occasion a band of eight rebels entering Salina Cruz at 
five o'clock in the afternoon. They found their man in the 
Espinal, took him out into the plaza of the barrio, riddled him 
with bullets, and made good their escape; though fifteen men 
of the garrison were only four blocks distant. 

Even these demonstrations ceased toward the end of the 
year and we began to think the military had actually cleared 
the region of bandits. But no, in a few days they were as 
active as ever, only this time they found it advisable to shift 
the scene of operations. Figuring that Salina Cruz and 
Tehuantepec were too well garrisoned to be taken, they betook 
themselves to the neighborhood of Niltepec — Niltepec lies on 
the southern flank of the Mountains of Chimalapa some forty 
miles northeast of Tehuantepec — and looted the ingenio or 
sugar plantation at that point. 

The news reached us in the usual way. One evening 
shortly before I left the Isthmus three ladies alighted from 
the train at Salina Cruz and put up at my hotel. Their arrival 
produced quite a sensation. They were clearly Mexicans, 
but were dressed in black and wore hats. Ergo, they were 
white ladies from the central plateau. Very strange they 
seemed to us who had so long seen only hatless women. 

The ladies were vivacious and talkative like all of their 



QUIEN VIVE? 43 

race, and we were not long in learning all about them. It ap- 
peared they were friends of the manager of the ingenio at 
Niltepec and had shortly before come down from central Mex- 
ico to pay his family a visit. Sometime previously the man- 
ager, fearful of an attack by marauders, had called upon the 
government for a detachment of troops. The government sent 
a guard of ten men ; but in calling for troops the manager had 
acted inadvisedly, as he was soon to learn. Situated as he 
was, the payment of a reasonable tribute to the bandit chief 
of the locality was the only sure way of securing immunity. 

One morning fully a hundred well-armed bandits de- 
scended upon the ingenio, scattering the guard like chaff be- 
fore the wind. It was the usual story; the soldiers, finding 
themselves outnumbered, made no defense but fled on the 
instant, leaving the manager and his fair guests to their own 
devices. The bandits were not extortionate in their demands. 
They compelled the manager to open the plantation safe and 
pocketed its contents, a matter of a thousand pesos, and then 
each of the leaders — there were five of them — appropriated a 
riding horse from the plantation stables; but with this they 
appeared satisfied. Of course the manager was locked up 
temporarily for safe keeping. 

The most talkative of the ladies, who told us all this, 
assured us that the bandit chief was a perfect gentleman. 
When the outlaws first took possession of the place he appeared 
at their quarters and after politely saluting said : 

"Have no fear, ladies ; no harm shall befall you. I deeply 
regret the necessity of relieving our mutual friend, the man- 
ager, of his surplus cash, and as soon as that is accomplished 
and a few other little things attended to shall endeavor to 
withdraw my men. It may easily happen, however, that some 
may discover liquor before I can get them out of the place, 



44 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

and in that event I cannot answer for their conduct. I shall 
therefore lock you ladies in for the present and will return 
later." 

He bowed again and taking the key from the door paiised 
out, locking the door from the outside. The helpless ladies 
waited in great fear. They could not see what was taking 
place without, but from the confused shouts and noises which 
came to their ears it was plain that the business of looting 
the place was in full swing. After about an hour the key once 
more grated in the door, which was opened, disclosing the 
amiable features of the bandit chief. 

"Gather up your things, ladies, and come out,'* he said. 
"Some of our men have discovered liquor and are fast getting 
beyond control. I have secured a rig to take you to the nearest 
railway station. By leaving at once and driving fast you will 
reach the station in time to catch the train to San Geronimo." 

The ladies hurried out and entered the waiting convey- 
ance, a light covered wagon drawn by two sinewy mules. The 
chief had thoughtfully secured a driver from among the plan- 
tation peons. A general handshaking, a few hurried instruc- 
tions, and they were off before the rank and file of the bandits 
had discovered what was under way. As they turned the first 
corner the ladies caught a last glimpse of the ingenio. Before 
the great front door of the ranch house stood their bandit 
protector and even as they looked he removed his sombrero 
with a mighty flourish and, placing his hand over his heart, 
bowed low. 

A drive of ten miles brought them safely to the station 
just in time to catch the west bound train and two hours later 
they alighted at San Geronimo. The next day they reached 
Salina Cruz, where they remained until the arrival of the next 
north bound ship. 



Chapter III. 
TEHUANTEPEC. 

PRAISE be unto the Lord of the Three Worlds, even unto 
Almighty Allah who hath made the histories of the 
Past an admonition unto the children of the Present. 
I joyed with exceeding joy and returned grateful thanks to the 
Most Compassionate, what time I first beheld that goodly 
city of infidels, by them hight Tehuantepec the Holy. And I 
have much to tell thee, my brother, concerning the evils 
which in days of yore and in ages long gone before befell this 
place, and how Allah finally tempered their tribulations ; but 
first I must needs describe to thee the city itself. 

Tehuantepec lies upon the river of that name about mid- 
way between the point where the stream bursts forth from the 
mountains of Oaxaca and its mouth at Ventosa Bay. At this 
point a cluster of high hills breaks the monotony of the plain 
and between these hills the river wends its way. The city is 
built upon both sides of the river, partly upon the narrow 
benches between the river and the hills and partly upon the 
sides of the hills, terrace upon terrace. 

It is the center of a rich agricultural district. Up and 
down the river, as far as the eye can reach, is one succession 
of bright garden patches and verdant fields, each surrounded 
with living hedges of Spanish plum, piiion, or gulebere, or 
bordered with stately rows of orange, mango, or the graceful 
coconut palm. There is no agrarian problem here, for the 
Mexican government long since made ample provision for the 
Indians, alloting to each his little plot of ground. Enormous 

45 



46 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

crops of sugar cane, pineapple, coconuts, beans, and corn are 
raised in this favored valley, and were its v^^aters utilized to 
full capacity it could easily feed all southern Mexico. 

The history of Tehuantepec runs back into the distant 
past. It was already the principal city of the Isthmus when 
the Zapotec king Cosijoeza defeated the Aztecs at Quiengola 
in the year 1497, and it is so still. 

Its origin antedates the dawn of history, but it was prob- 
ably founded by the Huaves, whose capital city it seems to 
have been before the successive waves of Aztecs and Zapotecs 
overspread the land. The choice of site appears to have been 
based upon both commercial and military considerations, it 
being the nearest defensible position on the route leading from 
the Pacific plains to the Valley of Oaxaca. The heights sur- 
rounding the city afforded vantage points from which the eyes 
of its sentinels swept the plains for miles around and sites for 
the erection of fortifications to which the population could 
withdraw in the hour of peril. 

While these hills shut in the city on the east and west, up 
and down the river the view is unobstructed ; and looking north 
one sees the gorge where the stream emerges from the moun- 
tains and on the left the imposing mass of Mt. Quiengola. In 
a later chapter we shall have occasion to give at some length 
the legends connected with this mountain. At this point let 
it suffice to state that there in the fifteenth century King Cosi- 
joeza erected a fortress to dominate the Pacific plains of Te- 
huantepec which he had but lately conquered. 

The remains of these fortifications are the most extensive 
ruins in those parts of Mexico, and often as from Tehuantepec 
I gazed upon its azure heights I determined to organize a party 
for a trip to Quiengola. But Allah determineth all things, 
and from this mad idea, as they called it, my friends as often 



TEHUANTEPEC 47 

dissuaded me. We would, they argued, need a pack train and 
scaling ladders, for the way was a matter of seven leagues — 
a Mexican league is about two and a half English miles — and 
the ascent to the ruins, about half way up the mountain, was 
very steep. The round trip would require three or four days 
and, worst of all, the district was infested with bandits. 

While I remained but half convinced and continued to 
revolve the matter in my mind, an incident occurred which 
dissipated for good all idea of visiting Quiengola. Tehuan- 
tepec was the district capital and a garrisoned town, and so 
was Jalapa, a place some twenty-five or thirty miles up the 
river ; and Tehuantepec being the nearest railroad point rein- 
forcements for Jalapa were dispatched from there. 

On a certain Sunday in midsummer I made one of my 
customary visits to Tehuantepec. Upon my arrival I hunted 
up Don Carlos and we set out for a walk through the suburb 
of Santa Maria; and as we were crossing the plaza for that 
purpose a troop of horsemen, soldiers from the garrison, came 
galloping past. I should have given them no heed had I not 
espied among their number the jovial little major, second in 
command of our own garrison at Salina Cruz. He was a won- 
derfully fat man and like most fat men exceedingly jolly, and 
I loved him as a brother. He nodded and smiled as they passed. 

"By Allah, Don Carlos!" quoth I, "this hath a savor of 
mystery. There must be full thirty in that detachment. Per- 
adventure there is something of importance afoot." 

"Nothing out of the ordinary, I imagine," he replied. 
"There is a garrison at Jalapa, you know, and I understand 
these fellows are on their way to relieve the garrison. You 
see the government has to keep switching the soldiers about 
from point to point so that they won't get too well acquainted 
in any one place. There is a big disaffected element in all 



48 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

these towns and troops kept too long in a place are apt to 
get mixed up in some treasonable business." 

"I see, but how comes it, think you, that our Salina Cruz 
major is with them?" 

"Can't say," Don Carlos replied; "wants to see the coun- 
try up that way, I suppose. Probably he will accompany our 
colonel to Jalapa, where they will leave these men and return 
with an equal number of the old garrison. They'll have a 
rare outing; wish I was going with them." 

We spent the afternoon visiting various points of interest 
in Santa Maria, and after supper I bade him good-bye and 
taking the evening train returned to Salina Cruz. Three 
weeks later I was again in Tehuantepec and on meeting Don 
Carlos happened to allude to the party that had left for Jalapa. 

"What! Haven't you heard the news?" said that worthy. 
"I thought everyone knew of what happened on the Jalapa 
road." 

"No! Anything serious?" 

"Well, rather. Half of those poor fellows who rode so 
gallantly past us when you were last here have gone to their 
eternal rest." Here he made the sign of the cross, after the 
manner of the unbelievers, and continued : "All went well until 
they reached the foot of Quiengola, but as they were passing 
through the gorge between the mountain and the river the 
rebels suddenly opened fire on them from the surrounding 
heights." 

"Ambushed?" 

"Yes, ambushed. It was just the sort of place for an 
ambuscade; a narrow defile and high above rocks piled helter- 
skelter, and behind every rock an Indian. Those fellows made 
short work of the detachment. They poured down a wither- 
ing fire on the trapped soldiers and in a few minutes the ravine 



TEHUANTEPEC 49 

was filled with dead and dying men and horses. Our men 
attempted a stand but the situation was desperate; they 
couldn't scale the sides of the ravine to grapple with the ene- 
my, nor did they dare to advance, for they knew not how far 
the way might be picketed by rebels. So after fifteen of their 
number had fallen they turned and fled." 

"But^ow about the Jalapa garrison?" 

"Oh, they may consider themselves fortunate in that the 
attack was not timed for the return trip." 

It will be readily understood that after this recital I dis- 
missed from my mind all thought of visiting Quiengola. 



The city of Tehuantepec is situated principally on the 
left or eastern bank of the river, the business center being 
crowded between the river and Dani Guibedchi or Tiger Hill, 
the highest of the eminences which surround the city. The 
word Tehuantepec is from the Aztec and means "tiger hill 
town." It is said that the hill was formerly the lair of tigers 
which preyed upon the inhabitants of the town until a com- 
paratively recent date. In Zapotecan, still the common speech, 
the place is called Guisi. 

A typical old Mexican town is Tehuantepec with its fifteen 
heavy Moorish churches, its monotonous one-storied houses 
with their grated windows and hidden inner courts, and its 
narrow, crooked streets. Of its ancient glories before the 
Spaniard came no memorial remains. The old church and 
convent of Santo Domingo are said to have been built by 
Cosijopii, the last king of Tehuantepec, but even fifty years ago 
the members of the Shufeldt expedition pronounced their 
architecture to be purely Spanish. This is hardly to be won- 
dered at since three centuries had intervened from the death 
of Cosijopii, and what with time, earthquakes, and civil strife 



50 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

these structures may have been several times destroyed and 
rebuilt. 

But it is more difficult to understand why no remains 
whatever, great or small, of the ancient Indian civilization are 
to be found in or about the city. At Mixtaquilla, three miles 
north, abundant archaeological material has been exhumed; 
but none at Tehuantepec. Possibly while the larger monu- 
ments of the past have crumbled with age or have been torn 
down to make way for new structures, those statuettes, celts, 
and other small implements which must once have been so 
numerous, have been carried away by the constant stream of 
travelers passing through the place. 

In the summer of 1918, as I was passing through Calle 
Segunda Morelos, that little street which runs west from San 
Sebastian church to the river, I came upon an Indian celt — 
one of those stone chisels formerly used by the aborigines 
to scrape skins and for other domestic purposes — lying in the 
middle of the street. At first I was at a loss to account for 
its presence there; but on looking about I observed that the 
street had once been paved with dark gray cobble-stone, about 
half of the pavement being still intact, and that the stones of 
the pavement were of the same color and size as the celt. The 
explanation was obvious. Some ignorant workman had taken 
the celt for a pebble and incorporated it into the pavement, 
from which it had but recently been broken loose. 

It was upon this occasion that, in passing from the street 
into the little square which fronts San Sebastian church, I 
beheld a sight by no means uncommon in that part of Mexico. 
A sturdy Tehuana was taking a live pig to market. She had 
first tied his feet together before and aft and then, having 
taken him up in her arms as one would a child, was marching 
off to the market with the greatest unconcern imaginable. Not 



TEHUANTEPEC 51 

a grunt did the pig utter ; he was probably accustomed to this 
singular form of conveyance. Nor did the Tehuana grunt, 
though the porker must have weighed fully sixty pounds. 

Tehuantepec boasts a population of 15,000. There are a 
few Syrian merchants in the place and perhaps two or three 
hundred white Mexicans, in the liberal sense in which I have 
used that term. Strange to say, there are neither Spaniards 
nor Chinese. The remainder of the population is Tehuano. 
There is among these a considerable strain of white blood, and 
indeed, some of the Tehuanos are almost pure white. For 
generations before the advent of railroads adventurers seeking 
the west coast followed the route of the Isthmus, and many 
surrendered to the charm of the Tehuana, stayed, and were 
absorbed. And their descendants are counted as Indians, 
yea, though as white as the beard of the Prophet; for the line 
is drawn as I have said, not by blood, but by speech and dress 
and manner of life, and as one counts himself an Indian or 
a white man, so he is. 

But the number of Tehuanos bearing any perceptible 
strain of white blood is small. It is limited to the upper class. 
Almost the entire population is evidently of pure Zapotecan 
blood, as is evidenced by their color, varying from rich yel- 
low to dark brown. These Indians of the plains lack, how- 
ever, the over prominent nose characteristic of the Indian 
race in general and their hair is generally short and fine, and 
often dark brown in color rather than black. These circum- 
stances, combined with the beauty of the women (universally 
acknowledged to be the most beautiful of the Indian race), 
have led many to assume an extensive race admixture which 
the facts do not warrant. 

The houses of the well-to-do (and there are many such 
among the Indians of Tehuantepec) are commonly of but one 



52 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

story, without porches on the exterior, and built flush with 
the street ; the long expanse of blank wall, broken only by small 
grated windows, producing an effect the reverse of pleasant. 
But step inside, and the feeling is at once dispelled ; for here 
every house is built about an inner court, upon which porches 
supported by massive columns face, a court in many cases filled 
with shady trees and gorgeous flowering bushes of many kinds. 

These houses of the better class are invariably con- 
structed of brick, for brick is cheap while lumber is very cost- 
ly on the Isthmus. Indeed, I was told by a friend that he paid 
more for a few hundred feet of lumber used in connection with 
the roof of his house than for all the rest, brick and labor, 
taken together. In the dry atmosphere of the Pacific plains, 
adobe or sun-dried brick is (or was until late years) the prin- 
cipal building material; the practice being to construct the 
lower three feet of the wall of burnt brick, which is also used 
about the doors and windows to give greater strength, the 
remainder of the wall being constructed of the cheaper adobe. 
The newer buildings are very generally built of burnt brick 
throughout. 

Every Indian is ambitious to become the owner of a brick 
house, and as money is not always ready to hand in the be- 
ginning, the custom is to build piecemeal as the money is 
earned. The roof is always built first, and the walls one by 
one as circumstances permit. In this M^ay a house may be 
seven or eight years in building, but in the end the owner 
has a commodious brick dwelling. 

During the years of the revolution there was but 
little construction and vdth the return of peace building will 
be abnormally active for some years. Not only will there be 
great demand for common and pressed brick, but also for 
floor tile and roofing tile, wooden floors and shingled roofs 



TEHUANTEPEC 53 

being uncommon in this section. There will be a great oppor- 
tunity for the establishment of foreign brick-making plants, 
for which San Geronimo and Ixtaltepec afford the best loca- 
tions; the former as possessing the best railroad facilities 
and the latter because of the excellent brick-making clays 
of that neighborhood. 

Pass we now to the homes of the poor. They live in huts 
thatched with palm leaves. The walls of some of these huts 
consist merely of a matting made of wild cane ; while in the 
better sort the walls are of wattle plastered over with red clay. 
Sometimes the poor fellow sets up the frame of his little home, 
nails strips on the outside and inside of the posts, fills in the 
interval with small fragments of rock, and then plasters the 
whole over with clay. In any event his abode is a miserable 
one; destitute of chimney, window, and floor, every spell of 
wet weather sweeps off great numbers of the unfortunate 
poor. Bismillah, it is a shame that men should be permitted 
to live thus without instruction. May Allah speed the day 
when the poor Indian shall be taught a better way. 

The majority of the Indians of Mexico live in miserable 
hovels of the sort described above. Do you ask the reason? 
It is not far to seek. Three causes in fact combine to keep 
the bulk of the Indian population in a state of destitution ; the 
apathy of the Indian; his exploitation by the white element, 
Mexican and foreign alike; and the lack of public security. 
And the cure as certainly lies in three remedies which for- 
tunately operate upon all the evils alike; better educational 
facilities, a wider diffusion of the system of small land hold- 
ings, and a greater infusion of white blood. When a good com- 
mon-school education is within the reach of every child, and 
when every Indian father owns his own little patch of land, 
intestinal strife will cease in Mexico, a steady stream of Euro- 



54 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

pean immigration will flow upon the great central plateau, and 
destitution will disappear from the republic. 

At Tehuantepec it is the custom to elevate the sidewalks 
adjoining the better buildings some three or four feet above 
the level of the street, and, that this may not inconvenience the 
pedestrian in crossing the street, the side of the sidewalk is 
stepped, not only at the corners but along the sides of the 
block. In these narrow streets hitching posts are out of the 
question and if the owner of a building keeps a horse or mule 
he sets a ring in the wall to tie his animal upon occasion. The 
beast so tied occupies the sidewalk and the passer-by must 
take to the street. 'Tis the custom of the land. 

Mexico is a much churched country so far as buildings 
go. In the state of Oaxaca alone there are more than a thou- 
sand temples of masonry. But when I visited Tehuantepec 
the plight of the church was sad indeed. During the revolu- 
tion the monks had been expelled from their convent and the 
building converted into a jail and barracks for soldiery. The 
neighboring cathedral was used as a horse stable, the high 
altar defiled in an indescribable manner, and the congregation 
was obliged to worship in an adjoining chapel. 

Tehuantepec is certainly well called the Holy City. 
Churches abound; there is the cathedral and twelve ward 
churches, one for each of the twelve barrios into which the 
city is divided. The churches are massive structures of mason- 
ry, with walls of such thickness that the space within is very 
confined and little room is left for the worshipers. To fully 
accommodate the congregation the space in front of the church 
is generally roofed over, as seen in the picture of the Church 
of the Laborio, given in this volume. During service the 
women sit on the floor of the church facing the altar while the 



TEHUANTEPEC 55 

male portion of the congregation stands at attention without 
the door. 

The Indians are great church-goers. Male and female 
they flock to church at every call of the bell. The Church 
satisfies both their religious and their social needs. Adjoining 
the main structure there is generally a vestry where the older 
men congregate every Sunday to converse and smoke cigar- 
ettes, irrespective of whether or not there are religious serv- 
ices on that particular day. This appears to be quite a social 
institution. 

Across the river from Tehuantepec, in the suburb of 
Santa Maria, are three small conical hills, rising perhaps a 
hundred feet above the surrounding level. On the summit of 
each the piety of past ages has built a little chapel, while on 
the summits of the larger hills round about the city rude 
crosses have been erected. To chapel and cross the Indians 
resort to pay their vows. Visiting one of these chapels you 
may perchance find the door open, and looking in may see a 
young mother crouching before a lighted taper set between 
the flowers which she has brought to the fane. She is keeping 
a vow for the safety of her first-born child. 

It is the policy of the church to keep the Indian busy with 
rites and pilgrimages. On the outskirts of Tehuantepec, across 
the river to the northwest, lies Dani Lieza, a hill somewhat 
higher than the three chapel-crowned eminences to which I 
have alluded. In the face of this hill, near the summit, is a 
shallow cave ; and passing through Tehauntepec of an evening 
you will observe a bright light shining from the cave. For 
the good people of that barrio have taken it upon themselves 
to send by turns a messenger nightly up the steep ascent of 
the hill to set candles upon an altar in the cave. 



56 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

In the next chapter we speak more at length of the relig- 
ious functions so dear to the heart of the Tehuano. 

The streets of Tehuantepec are infested by a liberal as- 
sortment of half-starved hogs, dogs and burros. The hog is 
the scavenger of the place and it is well that he is, for all the 
refuse is thrown into the streets. Were it not for the hog and 
the dryness of the climate the people of Tehuantepec would 
have long since perished to a man. As it is, it is accounted a 
healthy place. 

The dogs of that land are wretched creatures. The cli- 
mate is too hot for dogs, and the Indian neither feeds nor pets 
them; and shall we wonder that the Friend of Man, deprived 
of his just due, reverts to the condition of his savage ancestor, 
the wolf. Indeed, this is only another instance where the In- 
dian needs instruction ; he is kind-hearted toward his fellows, 
but has never been taught the duty of humanity to animals. 
So miserable was the condition of many a dog that I came upon 
that I should have killed it, had I not been afraid of causing 
a riot. I one day came upon a poor dog paralyzed in its hind 
legs, hopping about the streets with its forefeet, emaciated to 
a skeleton, and literally covered with enormous woodticks. 
Bismillah, my heart swelled within me; and yet the inhabitants 
of the ward were totally oblivious of the poor creature's 
misery. 

But the dogs of the few stray whites who dwell in the 
land thrive and grow fat. Senor Naufal, a Maronite merchant 
of Tehuantepec, had a dog called Sultan, a great portly yellow 
fellow, the envy of the town. This knowing beast was not 
even satisfied with the abundance he received at home, but 
whenever he met the Traveler on the street, followed him to 
that sumptuous' hostelry, the Hotel la Perla, and taking his 



TEHUANTEPEC 57 

seat beside him, put on his very best behavior, as a wise dog 
will, lest he lose his share of the feast. 

The dogs of the Isthmus have a peculiar custom of sleep- 
ing in the middle of the street ; and often in the daytime also, 
when it is not too hot, you may see them lying there. I have 
never heard this explained. Possibly it is to avoid vermin, 
or it may be on account of the heat derived from the sand. 

Passing through the streets of Tehuantepec of a morning 
you are certain to encounter numerous burros, each with four 
Standard Oil cans on his back, two on either side. You will 
be run down if you are not careful, as the burros are not led. 
A boy follows after with whip in hand and the burros, with 
a wholesome respect for the whip, trot before, stopping at 
every doorway for a possible sale ; for this, you must know, is 
the city water department. The well water is alkaline and all 
drinking water must be brought from the river. When their 
loads are disposed of, the burros make back for the river, the 
empty cans on their backs making a prodigious clatter as they 
trot down the street. 



Chapter IV. 
DON CARLOS DE SAN BLAS. 

HAVING thus briefly described the city and its envi- 
rons, it now behooveth me to tell thee of my exper- 
iences therein, even as I have aforetime promised 
thee, son of my sister. And of those things which I shall 
relate take heed that thou question not, for I swear by the 
Name graven on the signet of the Great King that the same 
are true beyond the peradventure of a doubt. 

Late in January of the year 1918 I took the 4:30 a. m. 
train at Salina Cruz, arriving in Tehuantepec a little after 
five. My friend Don Carlos met me at the station. It being 
so early, we decided to take a stroll before breakfast. We 
passed between Tiger Hill and another "cerro," both cactus 
clad, toward the city cemetery. The mist was on the hills and 
as we gazed up through the mist I noticed that the cacti on 
the hilltops were tipped with black. Guess the explanation. 
They were crowned with buzzards. The buzzards had certainly 
chosen roosts where they were safe from attack, if that was 
their object, though what would attack a buzzard I cannot 
imagine. At any rate it seems the great organ cactus is their 
favorite roost. 

We passed on to the cemetery. Like the ordinary Span- 
ish cemetery it was enclosed by a high stone wall, but unlike it 
the graves were not in niches in the wall but were laid out 
upon the ground. In the center of the cemetery was a mag- 
nificent mausoleum containing the remains of the principal 
woman of the town, Doria Juana Romero. She had died about 

58 



DON CARLOS DE SAN BLAS 59 

two years before. Gazing through the plateglass doors of the 
tomb we saw her casket, against the opposite wall an altar 
surmounted by a beautiful brazen cross, and on each side of 
the casket an immense candle fully three inches in diameter, 
of pure beeswax. Don Carlos looked lovingly upon the latter 
as he had the monopoly of the beeswax business in that part 
of the country. 

A unique feature of the cemetery was a miniature repro- 
duction of a Mexican church, bell-tower and all. It was the 
tomb of one of the leading citizens. And near the center of 
the enclosure was another feature of a nature not so pleasing. 
Here was an extensive area covered with red tile flagging, 
and Don Carlos told me that beneath the flagging lay the 
remains of the many who had perished of yellow fever in the 
years that had passed. That was many years back. There 
has been no epidemic of yellow fever on the Isthmus of recent 
years. 

I was disposed to linger amid these scenes but the 
mercurial Don Carlos was of a different opinion. He had al- 
ready planned a walk around Tiger Hill, so we bade farewell 
to the city of the dead and resumed our trip, A half hour's 
walk brought us to San Bias, a suburb of Tehuantepec with a 
population of three or four thousand. As we entered the 
place Don Carlos' quick eye noted a large cotton tree. It was 
in full bloom and, early as it was, one of his bees Was at work 
on each blossom. 

Another fifteen minutes brought us to the principal 
church of the place. We must attend church, for a due respect 
for things ecclesiastical meant an increased sale of beeswax to 
make the all-essential candle ; so we made our way toward the 
church door. Inside the church the women, heads covered with 
their beautiful lace huipiles grandes, sat in rows upon the 



60 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

pavement, while the men filled the entrance and the space 
before the door, which was roofed over to protect them from 
the sun. An aged priest in full vestments was intoning the 
mass ; an orchestra, for want of an organ, filling in the inter- 
vals. Now it so happened that the good old priest was as deaf 
as an adder, and the musicians had taken advantage of his mis- 
fortune to play a dance tune instead of the sacred music pre- 
scribed. The congregation seemed thoroughly satisfied, their 
point of view seeming to be that as the priest was deceived it 
was all right. 

We now proceeded on our way and eventually got back to 
Tehuantepec and in a few minutes reached the municipal 
center, which in Tehuantepec consists of a plaza or park with 
an adjoining market. As in the case of most Indian towns, 
stores such as exist in more northern lands are of minor conse- 
quence, most of the retail business of the place being trans- 
acted in the market. Thither every morning the Tehuanas 
foregather with their wares. 

The Tehuantepec market is famed throughout the Isth- 
mus. It is housed under a great tile roof supported by im- 
mense pillars of masonry. The market was jamb full of Te- 
huanas clad in the brightest colors imaginable. There were 
few things which could not be bought in that market but what 
interested me most were the fruits. Almost every sort of 
tropical fruit was to be had ; great pineapples ; luscious chicos ; 
fresh coconuts, each enclosing a good cool drink; immense 
papayas; in fact, everything except oranges, which were ap- 
parently not in season. 

The fruits investigated, we passed on to the flower mar- 
ket. One aisle of the market was occupied by the flower girls. 
The display here was well worth seeing for I doubt if there is 
among the children of men a race more fond of flowers than 




American Consulate, Salina Cruz 



DON CARLOS DE SAN BLAS 61 

the Tehuanos. Many of the little holdings on the outskirts of 
the city are devoted exclusively to flower culture. Sunday 
and Thursday are red-letter days in the flower market. In 
the morning long trains of women troop toward the market 
bearing on their heads great trays of flowers. These flowers 
are sold during the day and in the cool of the afternoon an- 
other procession of women sets forth for the cemetery with 
flowers to decorate the graves of the dead — a beautiful custom. 

Escaping from the buzz of the market, Don Carlos and 
I lunched at an adjoining restaurant; after which we made 
our way toward Santa Maria, across the river from Tehuan- 
tepec. There was to be a fiesta there (it was the patron saint's 
day) and we had invited ourselves to the function. 

We arrived at the scene of festivities. A lively dance was 
in progress in a great covered court. About the entrance many 
booths had been erected at which all sorts of goodies were be- 
ing sold. Hot and thirsty after our walk under the broiling 
January sun, we felt particularly in need of a good cool drink 
and after looking about a bit decided on tamarind. You have 
doubtless been accustomed to think of tamarind as a drug, but 
I can assure you it makes a very pleasant drink. The woman 
who served us took from a bottle a tamarind ball about an inch 
in diameter, dropped it into a glass, and, filling the glass with 
water, handed it to me. A few turns of the spoon sufficed to 
dissolve the tamarind, and the, result was a drink fit for a 
king. 

The tamarind tree is very common in that land. It bears 
an abundance of large beanlike pods containing beans em- 
bedded in a green pulpy substance, the tamarind of commerce. 
Considering its cheapness it is a wonder that it has never been 
introduced into either Europe or the United States as a 
beverage. 



62 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

When we entered the dance court there must have been 
at least fifty couples on the floor. Being foreigners, and hence 
distinguished visitors, we were immediately seized by certain 
of the old men who were acting as the reception committee, 
and taken to seats of dignity at the west end of the court. 
Everyone of them, after the manner of elderly Zapotecs, wore 
a little pointed beard,* and they were wonderfully polite and 
hospitable. Nothing would do but we must go straight to the 
table and pledge them in a glass of strong mescal, and every 
few minutes one of their number would come up to replenish 
our glass. 

Among the dancers were four or five mestizo men, but all 
the others, and the women without exception, were Indian. 
All the women were dressed in full Tehuana ball costume: A 
full skirt with a white flounce, the latter generally of fine 
lace; a loose sleeveless jacket (the huipil) of red, purple, or 
brown, with large white or yellow polka dots, trimmed with 
broad bands of yellow embroidery; and chains of gold coins 
about their necks. Their hair was worn in two braids tied 
with pink ribbons, and each wore artificial flowers of the 
brightest hue over her temples. As though this were not 
color enough, each girl carried a silk handkerchief of red, 
purple, blue, yellow, or some other gaudy color. Many of them 
were, without exaggeration, dressed in every color of the rain- 
bow. With white women the result would have been ridic- 
ulous, but Tehuanas look charming in bright colors. 

It is difficult to keep away from Tehuantepec. Early 
March found me there again. In the morning Don Carlos and 
I went out to visit a Mr. Wilbur Barker, an American who 

*The Zapotecs, to which race the Tehuanos pertain, are much more 
hairy than the northern Indian. Frequently the arms of the woman are 
quite hairy, although the hair of their heads is noticeably short. 



DON CARLOS DE SAN BLAS 63 

had a small plantation in improved varieties of tropical fruits ; 
principally coconuts and aguacates (alligator pears). The 
trees were well started and in a few years would be bringing 
him good money ; for though the Indian lacks the initiative to 
procure and set out new sorts, he knows good fruit when he 
sees it and is ready to pay the price. Barker also had a few 
young bamboo trees. The bamboo is not native to these parts 
and these were the only ones I met with while on the Pacific 
plains. Mr. Barker has since been appointed American vice 
consul at Salina Cruz. 

We returned toward town, walking between lofty hedge 
fences of Spanish plum and the Mexican mucilage tree (Gula- 
bere). This is the land of the living fence. Several species 
of bushes and trees make excellent fence material, the pifion 
or tropical birch, the mucilage tree, and the Spanish plum 
being most generaly used for this purpose. 

The mucilage tree is a showy tree full of light yellow 
flowers the greater part of the year, which flowers are suc- 
ceeded by large berries resembling white currants in appear- 
ance. The juice of these berries is extensively used as a substi- 
tute for the mucilage of commerce. On the bookkeeper's desk 
you will generally find a bunch of them, which are crushed as 
needed. If at a business office you ask for mucilage, they will 
hand you one of these berries. The extracted juice may be 
bottled and kept for a considerable time. 

The Spanish plum is one of the best fencing materials. 
In two or three years from planting it develops into a sturdy 
little tree six inches in diameter with a beautiful top, and in 
season is loaded with an abundance of fruit, yellow or red. 
The Spanish plum is quite a diflferent article from the true 
plum, though in flavor somewhat resembling the latter. It is 
extensively used for preserves. 



64 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

I have already mentioned the organ cactus. It is the best 
of all hedge plants both on account of its great beauty and 
because it does not require irrigation and forms the most 
effectual barrier against livestock. But cactus hedges are the 
least used as more labor is required in starting them. 

In the cool of the afternoon we hunted up the local judge 
and started for the top of Tiger Hill to see the tiger's cave. 
It was a long steep climb up narrow rocky gullies, with cacti 
of many sorts growing on either hand. We did not come with- 
in sight of the peak until we were almost upon it. Then what 
was our surprise to see it surmounted by what appeared to be 
a pyramid of gaily-dressed Tehuanas. I was at a loss to ac- 
count for the phenomenom until coming closer, we perceived 
that in some past time a stepped pyramid of brick bad been 
erected upon the summit. 

It being Sunday, the Tehuanas had climbed the hill in 
obedience to a vow, and were standing on the steps of the 
pyramid trying to light the candles which they had placed 
between the three crosses which surmounted it. Unfortunately 
a stiff norther was blowing, which extinguished the candles 
as fast as they were lit. 

It is indeed a glorious vision which the traveler beholds 
from the summit of Tiger Hill ; in the foreground the hills of 
the Holy City while beyond in every direction stretches the 
verdant plain, as level as a floor, save where here and there 
solitary cerros lift their heads. Far to the northwest, seven 
leagues away, tower the azure heights of Quiengola, rich in 
legend; a lofty rampart walls in the plain until in the far 
northeast the eye falls on pictured Dani Guiati ; and away to 
the east, on the placid bosom of the great lagoon, sits the Isle 
of the Enchanted Cave. The scene is grand beyond descrip- 
tion, nor could I find it in my heart to blame those gentle 
Tehuanas if they had, as I half suspected, made the perform- 



DON CARLOS DE SAN BLAS 65 

ance of a vow but the pretense to excuse their journey to this 
point of vantage. 

The judge now explained that the tiger's cave was down 
from the summit about fifty feet on the side opposite that 
which we had ascended. Don Carlos, however, who had a soft 
spot in his heart for fair women, refused to budge from the 
neighborhood of the living pyramid; arguing that our objec- 
tive had been the summit of the hill, not the cave. So we left 
him with the Tehuanas, who were seven, and began the descent 
to the cave. 

Ten minutes brought us to the mouth of the cave. The 
entrance was very narrow and at a distance of eight or ten 
feet the cavern branched into three corridors which ascended 
at a steep angle into the heart of the hill. It was an ideal lair 
for the tiger, and I do not wonder that with this means of 
retreat he was able to set the town at defiance and make way 
with many a head of young stock and an occasional youngster 
before he was slain. Many generations have passed since the 
tiger met his fate, but the remembrance of his ferocious deeds 
still lives in the folklore of the people. 

"There is a painting on the roof of the cave, made by the 
Indians of the olden time," said the judge, "perhaps you would 
like to see it." Of course I would, and so, although the cave 
was very low, we entered it. And on the roof of the corridor 
to the left, only a few feet from the outer entrance, we found 
the painting. It was in black and was evidently intended to 
represent a tiger. 

Returning to the summit, we found Don Carlos deeply 
enamored of three or four of the Indian maidens, but we 
finally got him started and placing him before us, so as to 
preclude the possibility of retreat, began the descent. When 
we were halfway down the hill we turned and saw the Te- 



66 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

huanas waving their handkerchiefs at us. Some of the hand- 
kerchiefs were red, some green, some yellow, and some white, 
and as usual the girls were clad in every color of the rainbow. 
I had the only handkerchief in our party. The Don borrowed 
it of me and returned the salute ; after which he felt better. 
Seizing the opportunity, I reminded him that something might 
have occurred to his beloved bees during our absence, and he 
fairly rushed down the hill with us at his heels. 

The lure of the old town is irresistible and it was not 
long before I found myself there once more. We were a party 
of four and we took our way across the bridge to the suburb 
of Santa Maria. This suburb has a fine church which we pro- 
ceeded to visit. 

We found at the entrance a worthy Indian of great 
breadth, who informed us that he was the principal (senior 
warden) of the church and courteously offered to show us 
through the edifice. Among other images which graced its 
walls (may Allah forgive His servant for gazing upon them) 
was a Black Christ. Our guide assured us that many para- 
lytics annually visited the church and kissing the Black Christ 
were cured of their infirmities. 

As we passed from the church the principal directed our 
attention to the western bell tower. The bells were swung 
by hand and it sometimes happened that a bell thrower lost 
his footing and fell from the tower. Miraculous powers were, 
it seemed, associated with the tower, for the principal assured 
us that if a person falling from the tower cried "Asuncion 
de la Augusta" he would not be harmed. This he said had 
happened on several occasions. Questioned closer, he stated 
that all those who had fallen had failed to utter the mystic 
words while in mid air — which I can well believe — and had 



DON CARLOS DE SAN BLAS 67 

been injured or killed by the fall; which of course was proof 
sufficient. 

In parting, the principal pressed us to attend a dance to 
be held that afternoon. So after dinner we set out for the 
barrio in which the function was to take place. On arrival 
we found the house well filled with dancing Indians. After 
each set the male dancers took seats on one side of the hall, 
the Tehuanas on the other. Over at the end, behind a huge 
table, sat the principal, who was officiating as master of cere- 
monies, surrounded by the members of the vestry; for the 
dance, you must know, was a strictly church affair, though 
the master of the house was expected to foot the bill. 

We had come because two of our party had cameras and 
we had been told the Tehuanas at this dance would be espe- 
cially handsome ; and so they were. Six beauties sat together, 
and other six, not quite so pretty, next to them. At the first 
intermission our photographers got busy with the girls, who 
proved coy, after the manner of their sex. We thereupon re- 
sorted to strategy. Don Carlos and myself presented our- 
selves before the principal and his reverend colleagues and 
gravely requested an ''order" requiring the Tehuanas to sub- 
mit. The principal with great dignity acceded to the request 
and I turned back to secure the photos. But even as I did so 
the Don rushed upon us in great excitement, his eyes fairly 
bursting from their sockets, with the announcement that we 
had stirred up a veritable hornet's nest. 

The master of the house had taken umbrage because we 
had called upon the principal for assistance instead of calling 
upon him. We returned to the table. A heated debate was in 
progress between the two worthies. Each stood upon his 
rights and neither would yield. All the men gathered about 
the two disputants. The atmosphere grew every moment hot- 



68 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

ter, and we finally decided we had best decamp. But on turn- 
ing to leave we discovered that our men had in the meantime 
secured the coveted photographs, having represented to the 
Tehuanas that the Traveler was very angry with them because 
they would not permit the taking of their pictures. 

I am very glad that I visited Tehuantepec on Good Friday. 
It was a great day in the ancient city. In the morning we 
went to the cathedral. The images of Christ, the Virgin, and 
St. John, dressed in the most gorgeous apparel, were brought 
out and paraded about the church. Christ was represented 
in the likeness of a brown man, a concession to the Indians. 

They held a long service before the image of Christ, who 
was represented as carrying his cross, but clad in a rich robe 
of blue velvet and with a golden auriole over his head. He was 
attended by four little girls dressed up as angels with wings, 
bearing little silver swords. 

After this the chancel was converted into a stage, on 
which was portrayed the old story of the Crucifixion. It was all 
very realistic. Three crosses were erected, on which were 
hung life-size figures of Christ and the two thieves. The 
images of the Virgin, St. John, and the Magdalen were brought 
to the foot of the cross, while certain men dressed as Roman 
soldiers and others carried the spear with which his side was 
pierced, the sponge, etc. Finally He was taken down from the 
cross and buried; and in the last act He was being carried 
about in state in a glass casket. 

Now the ringing of bells is not permitted on Good Friday. 
So instead of ringing bells, at appropriate times during the 
service they shook a three-sided box having iron knockers on 
the side, which made a tremendous racket. 

After the service we went over to the plaza where we 



DON CARLOS DE SAN BLAS 69 

found things the reverse of religious. AH one side of the plaza 
was occupied by gaming tables of one sort and another. Money 
was piled high on every table and the games were in full swing. 
Along the full length of a second side booths had been im- 
provised for the sale of liquor; of whose potency we were well 
able to judge by the number of "hombres" we saw making 
their way toward home in the evening, with three sheets in 
the wind, tacking from side to side as they went. 

Every now and then a posse of police passed in the act of 
conducting some over-hilarious individual to jail. The drunken 
Indian is naturally about as unmanageable as those of his class 
the world over, but the Mexican police have discovered a 
unique method of expediting his movements. A stout staff is 
passed through his belt at the back and given a twist. With 
a policeman at each end of the staff and two others grasping 
the culprit by either hand, he is kept on his feet and hustled 
off to jail, whether or no. 

This was of course a great occasion for the women. There 
is a fine park in the plaza, surrounded by a wide brick-paved 
walk. Here, in the cool of the afternoon, the belles of the town 
foregathered and promenaded, dressed in their many-colored 
skirts and gorgeously embroidered jackets, with huipiles 
grandes of richly colored silk and fine lace surmounting all. 

This huipil grande was evidently once an embroidered 
upper garment, but has been reduced in size and metamor- 
phosed into the headdress of state. It consists of a body of 
yellow or green, embroidered with orange or blood red, and 
trimmed with a collar and deep flounce of stiffly starched 
lace. In church the huipil grande is brought up over the head, 
the lace collar fitting about the face so as to give these daugh- 
ters of the sun a rather nunnish appearance. But on leaving 
the church it is pushed back and falls from the hair, trailing 



70 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

down the back. The impression is much better. It reminds 
one of the conventional Indian headdress of eagle feathers and 
may perhaps be derived from it. 

It is said that the number of handsome Tehuanas fre- 
quenting the streets was formerly far greater than at present. 
It seems to have been the custom of certain lawless military 
officers to carry off Tehuanas whenever it suited their fancy. 
I was told that one of the most beautiful young women of the 
town was spirited away in this manner. After a time she 
escaped and returned to her home. Shame preyed upon her 
and after a little she lost her reason. Such conditions existing, 
it is not to be wondered at that many families had sent their 
daughters away to dwell with friends in the fastnesses of the 
mountains until the return of peace. 

Perhaps I should mention here the matter of baptism. 
Baptism is a great institution among the Indians. Of course 
no children were baptized on Good Friday, but on ordinary 
occasions one always saw a number of mothers bringing their 
latest offspring to the cathedral for baptism. The event was 
duly advertised by the proud parents, each baby being covered 
with a pink silk handkerchief purchased expressely for the 
occasion. 

I had several dear friends in Santa Maria, across the 
river from Tehuantepec. Mr. Barker has been mentioned. 
Then there was another American, Clarence Harvey, who 
lived in a little street behind the Santa Maria church, and 
with him his younger brothers and sisters. There was Guen- 
dohna, my paisana, a wonderful creature, but who, being a 
good Catholic, never ceased to rate me because I had four 
wives back in Persia ; there was Anastasia, stern as her eccles- 
iastical name; and two little brothers whose freckled faces 



DON CARLOS DE SAN BLAS 71 

bore witness to their northern blood. As I write, word comes 
that they have all left with Clarence for Laguna Perdida in 
the heart of the great forests of northern Guatemala. 

Up the river a mile from the home of the Harveys, right 
at the foot of Dani Lieza, lived old John Story, superintendent 
of the pumps which furnished Salina Cruz with water. Story 
was a great character. He was a one-armed man and well 
past seventy, but bubbling over with life and as game as a 
fighting cock. He formed a great liking for me. Don Carlos 
had strict orders to send him word whenever I was expected 
at Tehuantepec and I seldom alighted from the train but I 
found Story on hand, insistent on immediate adjournment to 
the Hotel La Perla for the all-essential glass of beer. 

With a couple of bumpers of beer stowed away, the old 
man grew loquacious, and would sit there reciting selections 
from Bobbie Burns and singing the Song of the Alamo for 
hours at a time. 

But when autumn came and the bandits began to multiply 
in the land the old man's joyous days came to an end. A know- 
ing bandit, reflecting that Story must draw a good salary as 
superintendent of the pumps, made him a call and suggested 
that he contribute two hundred pesos to the rebel cause. Upon 
meeting with a refusal he left, but promised to call again. 
Story at once sent for me and I left for Tehuantepec on the 
next train. I conferred with the colonel in command of that 
military zone, who promised to send a squad of soldiers to 
protect the pumps. The soldiers were sent but after a few 
days were withdrawn. 

Story now prepared for trouble. He knew it was but a 
matter of a few nights before the bandits would be upon him. 
He accordingly secured a couple of revolvers and sent his fam- 
ily into the town every night. His helpers at the pumps, hav- 



72 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

ing no liking for trouble, also left the place at sundown. The 
old man was alone. Then the expected happened. 

One evening Don Carlos telephoned me that there had 
been trouble at the pumps. I took the morning train for Te- 
huantepec. Don Carlos met me at the station and together we 
hastened across the river and made for Dani Lieza. We found 
the hero of the Alamo sitting on the veranda of his house on the 
hillside just above the pumps. 

"How's everything, Story?" I asked. "Oh, everything is 
all hunky-dory," he responded. "Had a little excitement last 
night, guess Don Carlos told you. After everyone had left the 
place, about nine o'clock, the bandits showed up ; quite a band 
of 'em. They invited me to come out for a parley, but I 
thought I'd better stay inside. Then they opened fire on the 
house. Just look here." And with that he showed me over 
the place. It was one of those Pearson frame houses and had 
been literally riddled with balls during the night's encounter. 

"I stayed here in the dark and fired through the window," 
Story resumed. "Couldn't do much, you know, as it takes lots 
of time to load where a fellow has only one hand. But I feel 
pretty sure that I got one of them. There were traces of 
blood when we examined the ground this morning." 

The inspection over, we sat down again and discussed the 
situation. In the end I assured him that I would see that a 
detachment of soldiers was stationed there permanently. We 
shook hands and the Don and I made off for Tehuantepec. A 
little pressure secured the desired guard for the pumps. 

I am told that there has been no more trouble in the neigh- 
borhood of Dani Lieza and that the old man is alive and pros- 
pering; but this I know, that the pumps will never be taken 
by any rebel band, save over the dead body of old John Story. 



Chapter V. 
FARTHER AFIELD. 

THE picture of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec which I 
conjured up when as a child I bent over my little 
primary geography, was that of a depression, prac- 
tically at sea level, separating the plateau region of central 
Mexico from the highlands of Chiapas and Central America; 
an impression which, I imagine, does not differ greatly from 
that of most otherwise well-informed readers. But it is very 
far from the reality. Everyone has heard more or less of the 
various schemes for constructing a canal or ship railway 
across the Isthmus. These schemes all came to naught because 
the Isthmus was not a plain, but was on the contrary inter- 
sected by a mountain range many miles in width. It is a con- 
troverted question whether Captain Ead's plan for a ship 
railway and Captain Shufeldt's project for a canal were either 
of these feasible. Both involved works rising from sea level 
to a height of over 700 feet and the traversing of many miles 
of mountainous country. 

The Isthmus of Tehuantepec runs in a direct east and 
west line between the southwestern extremity of the Gulf of 
Mexico on the north and the Gulf, or rather Bight, of Te- 
huantepec on the south. Across country from Puerto Mexico 
on the Gulf to the shores of the Upper Lagoon, which connects 
with the Pacific, the distance is but 125 miles ; though the dis- 
tance by rail from Puerto Mexico to Salina Cruz is 189 miles. 

The dominant feature of this region is the great river 
Coatzacoalcos. This stream rises in the rocky defiles of the 

73 






74 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Chimalapa Mountains, within less than forty miles of the 
Pacific, flows in a northwesterly direction until joined by the 
Escolapa from the south and then, bending sharply to the 
north, proceeds almost directly north to the latitude of Santa 
Lucrecia, where it is joined by the Jaltepec. At Santa Lu- 
crecia the Coatzacoalcos turns abruptly to the right and flows 
in a general northeasterly direction until it enters the Gulf 
at Puerto Mexico. It is a majestic river nearly a half mile 
in width in its lower reaches, and is navigable for ocean going 
vessels as far up as Minatitlan. 

The northern third of the Isthmus, as far south as Santa 
Lucrecia, is included within the Gulf plains, the true tierra 
caliente of Mexico, a region covered with dense jungle, save 
where cleared by man. The center, from Santa Lucrecia to 
within thirty miles of the Pacific, is a mountainous region, 
though an ever narrowing continuation of the Gulf plain 
stretches back from the east bank of the Coatzacoalcos from 
this point into the very heart of the mountains. At its mouth 
in the latitude of Santa Lucrecia this valley is perhaps thirty 
miles wide, narrowing as it enters the mountains and finally 
disappearing as Santa Maria Chimalapa is neared. 

Santa Lucrecia is at the junction of the Tehuantepec and 
Vera Cruz al Istmo railroads, and thus is the gateway to the 
Pacific region of the Isthmus ; for in normal times when travel 
is safe the traveler will land at Vera Cruz and proceed by the 
Vera Cruz al Istmo line to Santa Lucrecia, where he will put 
up for the night, catching the morning train southbound. The 
point is strategic, being not only at the junction of the only 
two railroads in the northern part of the Isthmus, but also 
finely situated at the junction of the Coatzacoalcos with its 
most important tributary, the Jaltepec, and surrounded by 



FARTHER AFIELD 75 

lands of wonderful fertility. But for some reason the place 
has not grown. It is still a small village of no commercial 
importance. 

Immediately south of Santa Lucrecia the railroad crosses 
the Jaltepec or Rio de los Mijes, at that point some 300 feet 
wide. This beautiful stream has its source in the Mije Sierra, 
a densely wooded district formerly inhabited by the once pow- 
erful Mije (or Mixe) Indians, who still inhabit the town of 
San Juan Guichicovi. 

South of the Jaltepec the railroad keeps well to the west 
of the Coatzacoalcos and at a distance of thirty or forty miles 
the scenery begins to change. The tropical landscape of the 
plains is left behind ; the country through which we are speed- 
ing becomes broken and wild. Stony hills stretch away to the 
west, while in the distant east tower the rugged ramparts of 
the mountains of Chimalapa. Higher and higher the train 
rushes through the hills, which now assume a wild grandeur, 
and approach nearer and nearer, until at Chivela we reach 
the summit of the pass.* Just west of the summit on the 
crest of a high hill is a watch-tower, a monument to mark the 
summit of the pass. 

On the Isthmus the sierra takes an east and west direc- 
tion and, compared with the adjoining plateaux of Chiapas 
and Oaxaca, is at this point both low and narrow. The high- 
est peaks have an elevation of less than 3,000 feet and the 
mountain passes and plateaux of Chivela and Tarifa about 
800 feet ; and the width of the mountain barrier is at its nar- 
rowest part barely twenty-five miles. This transverse moun- 
tain mass is composed of two limestone ranges, the northern 
or Majada Range and the southern or Masahua Range, be- 
tween w^hich lies a high synclinal valley constituting the table 

*The pass is 778 feet above sea level. 



76 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

lands of Tarifa and Chivela. The Masahua seems to be the 
continuation of the Sierra Madre and forms the true dividing 
ridge between the two oceans. 

This mountain region abounds in beautiful scenery. Per- 
haps the most interesting locality is along the upper reaches 
of the Monetza River. This river springs from under 
a Gothic arch cut by its waters in the southwestern ex- 
tremity of the Convento Hill. The hill consists of pure black 
marble, and the walls of the arch or tunnel which traverses 
it are perforated and jagged, pouring in all directions fine 
transparent streams of crystalline and delicious water. This 
natural arch or bridge is twenty-five feet high, twenty-three 
feet broad, and one hundred and twenty feet long. A thou- 
sand yards below this point the stream, flowing over a black 
bed of fantastically water-worn rocks, plunges into a grand 
cave fully a mile and a half in length, called the Large Con- 
vento. 

From Chivela the line descends and we pass rapidly 
through San Geronimo, Tehuantepec, and Salina Cruz, the 
cities of the Pacific plain. This district, much the smaller of 
the three regions in to which the Isthmus is divided, has ever 
been the more important notwithstanding, and our story lies 
principally there. 

The Pacific plains are but the continuation above sea 
level of the Gulf of Tehuantepec ; indeed it cannot be so very 
far back in geologic ages that the plains were themselves sub- 
merged, the Pacific washing the very feet of the mountains, 
for even as late as a hundred years ago, if tradition is to be 
believed, the great lagoons were much more extensive than 
at present. 

These lagoons, of which there are four, known as the 
Upper, Lower, Eastern, and Western (or Tilema) lagoons, 
stretch fully thirty-five miles from east to west by fifteen 



FARTHER AFIELD 77 

miles from north to south. The Upper Lagoon, which is much 
the larger of the four, discharges through the Santa Teresa 
channel into the Lower Lagoon, which in turn communicates 
with the sea by the Boca Barra. There is scarcely any per- 
ceptible tide in the lagoons, but being very shallow — depths 
of twelve feet are uncommon — and entrance from the sea 
being with difficulty effected because of the shifting sands, 
strong currents, and heavy surfs to be contended with at the 
Boca Barra, they cannot be utilized for marine purposes. 
The natural entrance, the Boca Barra, is utterly impractic- 
able. The current is very swift, so that boats can with diffi- 
culty breast it, and the sea breaks a mile from the beach, send- 
ing in & surf that is impossible to work in. At some distant 
date an artificial entrance will perhaps be constructed, making 
of this group of lagoons one of the best harbors in the world. 

In the meantime these lagoons will continue to be the 
sportsman's paradise. Fish and wild fowl abound. The four 
villages of Huave Indians situate upon the shores of the la- 
goons are supported entirely by the fisheries, the product 
being shipped to all the cities of the plain. 

From the lagoons seven rivers radiate, crossing the plain 
like the spokes of a great wheel. Of these the Tehuantepec 
River alone does not now reach the lagoons, but enters the 
ocean at La Ventosa, some twenty-five miles west of Boca 
Barra. Anciently, however, it entered the Tilema Lagoon 
and the old bed may still be traced from a point a short dis- 
tance north of Huilotepec, eastward across the plain to the 
west end of the lagoon. This river has its source away back 
among the mountains of Oaxaca, it was along its course that 
the conquering Zapotecs first made their way to the plains, 
and it still remains the most generally used highway. 

The location of Tehuantepec, on the river half way be- 
tween the mountains and its mouth at Ventosa Bay, was doubt- 



78 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

less largely determined by these trade considerations. Not 
all the Indians one sees at Tehuantepec are clad in Tehuano 
costume ; in fact, in the market the dress of the mountaineers 
(Vallistas) is almost as common. These people are merchants 
from the mountains and the upper valley of the Tehuantepec 
River. They come with strings of mules and burros laden with 
the products of the tierra templada; sweet potatoes, Chinese 
pomegranates, apples, quinces, peaches, immense thornapples 
(tejocote), kindling wood of fat pine (ocote), beans, pecans, 
etc. When these are disposed of they load their beasts with 
the produce of the plains and return to their mountain homes. 

Tehuantepec, as stated in the chapter devoted to that city, 
lies between the river and the adjacent hills. Just beyond 
those hills to the southeast lies the suburban town of San 
Bias, and one stopping off at Tehuantepec will get but a super- 
ficial idea of the Indian, who looms so largely in those parts, 
if he fails to visit San Bias. It is but a fifteen minutes' walk 
from the plaza to Tehuantepec, and yet as you tread its streets 
you feel that you have at last entered a city untainted by the 
white man's civilization. 

The population of the place is entirely Indian, and Indian 
of the most conservative type. Even the white-flounced skirt, 
sacred badge of the Tehuana, is almost totally lacking. The 
women of San Bias prefer the refajo or wrapper of their an- 
cestors, though with them it is invariably of some bright color. 
as distinguished from the white wrapper of the mountaineers. 
The place constitutes a separate municipality, Indian mayor 
and all, and has steadfastly turned a deaf ear to all talk of 
union with Tehuantepec. 

Among other ancient customs San Bias possesses that of 
the barbecue. While I was on the Isthmus the mayor of the 
place, who resembled politicians the world over, decided to 



FARTHER AFIELD 79 

further ingratiate himself with the leading citizens by giving 
a barbecue, and invitations were sent out accordingly. The 
federal judge stationed at Tehuantepec, his wife, myself, and 
of course the indispensable Don Carlos Parkins, were among 
those invited. The entertainment was held in a commodious 
building near the municipal center. 

I had always supposed a barbecue to consist of an animal 
roasted whole; but be that as it may, on this occasion the 
repast was limited to ox heads ! Large plates were placed be- 
fore the guests, on each of which was deposited a substantial 
ox head, horns and all. A flagon of beer was placed beside 
each plate and then we were handed sharp knives and told to 
get busy. The menu, ox heads and beer! Yes, nothing more. 

We were not permitted to overlook the purpose for which 
the barbecue was given. Barbaric as you may think the re- 
past, it was prefaced with the usual flourish of Mexican ora- 
tory. The judge must first voice in ponderous periods the 
community's deep appreciation of the mayor's civic services. 
The latter of course responded, modestly disclaiming all merit 
in himself and imputing the marked progress of the town 
during the year last past to the 'enlightened and valorous' 
nature of the electorate. Then, after we had at the instance 
of the master of ceremonies, pledged the mayor in divers 
bumpers of beer, we turned our attention to the ox heads. 

Being a political function, only members of the sterner 
sex (the judge's wife excepted, of course) had been invited. 
There were twenty of us present and we fell to with gusto, 
being heartily hungiy after the long preliminaries. Ox heads 
disappeared as if by magic, and as fast as they disappeared 
before the onslaughts of the heavisr eaters barefooted Indian 
maidens removed the trenchers and returned with a fresh 
"portion." 



80 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Moved by a desire to appear appreciative oif the honor 
bestowed upon us, we did our best to follow the example of our 
betters, a task at which Don Carlos at least succeeded fairly 
well. He ate and ate, cutting and tearing great chunks from 
his ox head, — ^the while he, after the approved fashion, scat- 
tered compliments right and left among the pretty female 
attendants — until I verily feared he would burst. 

The dinner over we all arose and each in turn thanked 
the mayor for his never-to-be-forgotten hospitality, shook him 
effusively by the hand and, Mexican fashion, pounded him af- 
fectionately on the back. Then, departing, we crossed the 
flank of Tiger Hill to the summit which bounds San Bias on 
that side, and so looked down upon Tehuantepec. 



But it is time we returned to our description of the seven 
rivers of the Pacific plain. The first of these, the Tehuantepec 
River, we have described. The next four discharge their wa- 
ters into the Upper Lagoon. Of these the more westerly, the 
Rio de Perros, is also at present the most important, for on its 
banks are San Geronimo and Juchitan, after Tehuantepec the 
principal cities of the plain. 

San Geronimo, a place of some 6,000 inhabitants, is at the 
junction of the Tehuantepec and Pan American railways and 
is destined to become an important commercial center. Its 
sole industry at the present time is the Cerveceria del Istmo, 
the only brewery in that part of Mexico; but with settled 
conditions restored, it will be a leading center for the collec- 
tion of timber, coffee, hides, and other produce for export. 
In fact, the Compania Comercial de Puebla, an American 
controlled corporation, has already built a well-equipped estab- 
lishment at this point, and its genial manager, Mr. A. A. 



FARTHER AFIELD 81 

Melby, has built up a considerable business in corn, coffee, 
hides and deerskins. 

I know not whether San Geronimo derived its name from 
the Latin father who wrote the Vulgate or from my old friend 
Don Jeronimo Mahoney of Reforma — it matters not, for they 
were both holy men — but certain I am that it is in appearance 
the least attractive of the cities of the plain ; and this not be- 
cause of natural disadvantages, for its scenic attractions are 
unsurpassed. To the southeast, a bare two miles distant, rises 
the isolated cerro of Dani Guiati ; to the west tower the outer- 
most ranges of the Mountains of Oaxaca, broken only in the 
center where a transverse depression leads back toward the 
Valley of Oaxaca; while directly north lie the picturesque 
mountains of the Pass of Chivela. Nor is the site of the town 
itself without merit; it lies down by the river amid rolling 
hills embowered for the greater part in verdure. But San Ge- 
ronimo has been not only the favored child but also the victim 
of circumstance. While the coming of the railroads has in- 
sured her future it has also split the town in two; and the 
Old Town, typically Mexican, lies in the river bottom a mile 
west of the station about which the New Town has grown. 

I do not suppose the New Town numbers a thousand 
souls, and yet it is the business end of the place, all the com- 
mercial houses being situated there. A couple of blocks 
northwest from the station stands the brewery, the Cerveceria 
del Istmo, a fine brick pile and the most imposing edifice of the 
place; while at the other extremity of the New Town lies the 
huge compound of the Compania Commercial de Puebla. In 
close proximity live quite a number of Americans, some con- 
nected with one or the other of these establishments and some 
engaged in other lines of business ; among whom I take pleas- 
ure in mentioning George H. Adamik, for many years a di- 



82 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

rector at the brewery; Mrs. Laura K. Delplain, an aunt of Mrs. 
O'Shaiighnessy of international literary fame; and Meyer 
Newmark, local representative of San Francisco lumber in- 
terests. Near the center of the town dwelt old Arturo Green, 
an American who had come there in early days, married a 
Tehuana, and become expatriate; despite which there was 
none more persistent than old Arturo in insisting that he was 
as good an American as ever. 

A very crooked road led away over red clay ridges from 
the heart of the New Town to the heart of the Old, and all the 
way houses were scattered over the arid plain in the most 
promiscuous manner, without any regard to each other or to 
the points of the compass, for all the world as though they had 
taken their cue not from the Polar Star but from the afore- 
said crooked road. In Mexico generally building restrictions 
seem to be non-existent and everyone builds exactly as he 
pleases, frequently with unfortunate results to the svinmetry 
of cities. But among the Mexican towns with which I am 
acquainted San Geronimo is easily the worst offender in this 
respect. 

One day of the days when it so happened that I was in 
San Geronimo, I accompanied Bolivar S. Kelly, superinten- 
dent of the brewery, and a number of boon companions on a 
trip to the Old Town. We first visited the market, where 
Kelly had assured me we should find some decidedly hand- 
some Tehuanas. Our visit was a failure; the market was 
indeed full of life but it was in every way inferior to that of 
Tehuantepec. The place was dirty, the articles displayed for 
sale were uninteresting and, worst of all, the Tehuanas in 
attendance were far from attractive. 

I then proposed a visit to the church, the fine external ap- 
pearance of which had in the meantime attracted my eye. This 



FARTHER AFIELD 83 

was far from pleasing Kelly who, besides not being of a re- 
ligious turn, was peeved over my judgment respecting the Te- 
huanas; but he accepted the situation with philosophic resig- 
nation and we set out for the church. Luckily for him we 
found the place locked and he insisted upon at once pro- 
ceeding to a bull fight then supposed to be in progress. 

We visited the large stockaded enclosure prepared for 
the bull fight and took seats in the pavilion which had been 
erected alongside for the accommodation of the elite. The 
bull was brought forth. He was a very gentlemanly, amiable- 
looking bull, not at all in keeping with my idea of the Mexi- 
can fighting bull, and he positively refused to fight. We looked 
on for a full hour while the local heroes of the ring shouted, 
and prodded him, and waved red cloths before him, all to no 
purpose ; Mr. Bull — very decidedly and very wisely for him — 
refused to get in the least bit excited. 

That is the way it usually ends, in Mexico at least; the 
bull can not be got to fight. All honor to the Mexican bull for 
the good sense which he generally displays. It is a brutal, 
degrading sport, which the authorities have done much to 
discourage, but it has a very strong hold on the vulgar herd. 

When they finally led the bull from the arena we mounted 
our steeds and rode away toward the western hills. Soon we 
were in the midst of a rural scene of surpassing beauty. What 
a contrast to the city with its delapidated buildings and 
crooked dusty streets crowded with dirty pigs and starving 
dogs and redolent of strange odors. We rode through narrow 
country lanes bordered with hedges of madre cacao, pinon, 
and yellow-blooming cacti; through patches of forest where 
grew the palmetto and the sapodilla tree; and anon among 
well-tilled orchards of orange and banana. 



84 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Then our trail dipped down into a swale and we rode for 
a time in the grateful shade made by wild mango trees, which 
love the vicinity of underground waters. The trees were laden 
with orange yellow fruit for it was June, the season of man- 
goes, and the Indians were busy picking the fruit. As fast 
as the fruit was picked the women packed it in homemade 
baskets and placing these on their heads disappeared in the 
direction of the city. Some of them held one hand to the 
basket to steady it, an unnecessary precaution where the 
basket was broad and low. Few sights are prettier than a 
line of these Butterfly Women moving rapidly along under 
well-balanced loads, their shapely arms swinging rhythmically 
to and fro, as their custom is, to preserve balance. 

We rode up a slight rise to the home of the owner of the 
mango grove, a simple structure surrounded by lignum vitae 
trees then in full bloom. The trees in question were too small 
to be of commercial value, but were very pretty, looking much 
like hawthorne trees filled with deep blue blossoms. Kelly 
conversed for a few moments with the mistress of the house 
— they spoke in the Zapotecan tongue, so that I was none the 
wiser — and then we turned about and made back for the city. 

Midway between San Geronimo and Juchitan lie two in- 
teresting Indian towns, Iztaltepec and El Espinal. The former 
is famed for its pottery works. This industry has existed for 
generations and the inhabitants have acquired great cunning 
in the art. Clays particularly adapted to the production of 
white and black pottery exist there, and many of the articles 
produced by these native workmen excel in classic finish the 
products of the best European manufacturers. As we shall 
see later on, Iztaltepec is also the center of the indigo industry 
on the Isthmus. 




■I"h<' Cin l';,ik :it ,Iii,-i,i 




the yh :>m).\' 1- .11'' ')ui;,J !■ 



FARTHER AFIELD 85 

Halfway between San Geronimo and Iztaltepec lies an 
isolated hill called Dani Guiati, upon the south face of which 
are rock paintings dating from before the time of King Cosi- 
joeza, the Zapotec monarch who conquered this region toward 
the end of the fifteenth century. 

In speaking of Iztaltepec I am reminded of a little incident 
told me by my friend M. Garfia Salinas. He was one of the 
leading lawyers on the Isthmus and dwelt at Salina Cruz in a 
house adjoining the American consulate, but the nature of his 
business necessitated frequent visits to Tehuantepec, Juchitan, 
and the other cities of the plain. Upon such occasions he al- 
ways wore a helmet and long linen duster. It should also be 
mentioned in passing that Don Garfia contrary to the Mexican 
custom wore no mustache, was slightly bald, and that his ex- 
pression was demure. 

It so chanced upon a day of the days that Don Garfia 
after having attended to certain legal matters at Juchitan 
set his face toward home. Now the region between Juchitan 
and Salina Cruz was at that time infested by outlaws, so that 
he needs must pass by the roundabout way through El Espinal, 
Iztaltepec, and San Geronimo, and in passing through Iztal- 
tepec a certain adventure befell him. As he was peacefully 
pursuing his way through the city, suddenly shots were 
heard and the next instant the streets were filled with bandits, 
shooting right and left. Don Garfia bethought himself that 
just at that moment the open street was no place for one of 
his peaceful profession and fled amain for shelter. 

Allah, praised be his name, hath ever a care for his own 
and I doubt not that Don Garfia, though an unbeliever, had 
found favor with the Most Compassionate, for as he sped up 
the street he discerned to his right an open doorway. He en- 
tered without so much as saying "By your leave," and had no 
sooner entered than the door was swung to and bolted. 



86 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Our hero found himself in the presence of some fifteen 
or twenty of the good people of the town. They were Indians 
of the lower class and being greatly frightened had cast them- 
selves on their knees and were busy invoking the intercession 
of San Benito in their behalf. The moment they beheld Don 
Garfia, however, they arose from their kneeling position and, 
crowding around him, begged that he would lead them in their 
devotions. 

"For you, holy father," they explained, "have surely 
greater influence with San Benito than all of the rest of us 
put together. Lead us in our supplications, we beg of you, that 
we may be saved from the fury of the bandits." 

"But I have no influence with San Benito," replied Don 
Garfia, greatly embarrassed — ^for he was not strong in prayer 
— "I am no priest but merely a humble member of the legal 
profession." 

"You don't fool us so easily," one old lady replied. "We 
have seen your reverence before and we know you for the 
bishop of Tehuantepec." 

Then, as Salinas stroked his smooth chin and scratched 
his bald pate, a light dawned upon him; they had taken our 
worthy friend for no less a personage than the venerable 
bishop of Tehuantepec. He succeeded in persuading them of 
their error, however, and they resumed their interrupted de- 
votions without his assistance. An hour later the bandits, 
having shot a man or two and secured all the loose coin in 
sight, left the town. As soon as they were gone the door of the 
house was opened and Don Garfia took his departure for San 
Geronimo. 

Juchitan, on the right bank of the Rio de Perros about 
five miles from the point where it empties into the Upper 



FARTHER AFIELD 87 

Lagoon, is the second city of the plains. It is but a little 
smaller than Tehuantepec and the rivalry between the two 
places is great, each city contending that its sons exceed those 
of the other in bravery as its daughters eclipse the daughters 
of the other in beauty. If a mere stranger may be permitted 
an opinion, I would venture the judgment that the men of 
Juchitan are the braver. The Juchiteco takes naturally to 
arms and Juchitan has always been one of the principal 
recruiting points for the Mexican army. The warlike spirit of 
her sons is evidenced in the vicissitudes through which the 
city has passed. In the incessant wars which have afflicted 
the country the place has been sacked and burned again and 
again ; but no reverse has crushed the indomitable spirit of 
her sons. To the daughters of Tehuantepec, on the other hand, 
I would award the palm for beauty ; though even this is stoutly 
denied by the people of Juchitan, for the Juchiteca, who 
dresses precisely like the Tehuana, is also famed for her 
beauty. There is among the upper classes of Juchitan a con- 
siderable strain of French blood dating from the time of 
Maximilian. 

The next three rivers as we pass from west to east are 
the Verde, Chicapa, and Cazadero, all of which enter the Upper 
Lagoon near its northeastern corner. Beyond, and further to 
the east, the Xocuapa and the Ostuta descend from the moun- 
tains of Chimalapa, the former entering the Lower Lagoon at 
its northeastern extremity and the latter discharging into the 
Eastern Lagoon. There are no large towns on the railroad 
east of Juchitan, but the rainfall increases and the country 
improves as one proceeds toward the east, and a great region 
lies there awaiting development, a country especially suited 
to the rearing of livestock and the growing of Indian corn. 



88 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

South of the railroad, between the Cazadero and Xocu- 
apa rivers, there is a distinct range of low mountains stretch- 
ing from Prieto Hill, five miles west of the Xocuapa, due west 
to Mount Tiac-Tinayix, whose base is washed by the Cazadero, 
The country between this range and the lagoons is covered with 
isolated hills scattered about without order. These partly 
submerged reappear in a beautiful chain of volcanic islands 
which stretch across the northern portion of the Upper Lagoon 
nearly to the mouth of the Rio de Perros. Of these islands the 
principal are Mitiac Xocuou, Natartiac, and Monapoxtiac. The 
latter, the holy isle of the ancient Zapotecs, lies midway of the 
lagoon as you proceed from east to west. It has two peaks and 
is on a clear day plainly discernible from the hills which over- 
look Sahna Cruz. 

There are some parts of this little Earth which stand so 
detached, are so removed from the general current of human 
affairs, that they may be as appropriately described as one 
place as another. Such a place is Clipperton Island. A mere 
dot in the Pacific, hundreds of miles from the nearest land, 
and far from the customary routes of sea traffic, one would 
think it the last place Romance would choose for her habita- 
tion; and yet even Clipperton is not without its story of 
tragedy and intrigue. 

The island lies several hundred miles to the southwest of 
Salina Cruz and is a Mexican possession. Thither, shortly be- 
for the revolution, the Mexican government dispatched a naval 
lieutenant with his wife and a number of attendants, male and 
female, to take charge of the island and its sole institution of 
importance, the Clipperton lighthouse. A negro also accom- 
panied the party in the capacity of lighthouse keeper. 

In the troublous times which followed the outbreak of the 
revolution the little party on Clipperton Island was completely 



FARTHER AFIELD 89 

forgotten. For years the island remained unvisited. After a 
time their stock of provisions began to run low ; and the worst 
of it was they were entirely dependent upon Mexico to supply 
their needs, for the island upon which they were marooned 
was a mere strip of sand, incapable of supporting even the 
eight or ten persons of the party. 

The lieutenant now took counsel of despair. All hope of 
relief quite gone, he decided to stake all on an attempt to reach 
the nearest Mexican port. And so one fine morning he and 
two male companions hoisted sail and set out in a tiny open 
boat for Acapulco. From that day forth nothing was ever 
heard of them ; the sea had swallowed them up. 

Those who remained behind kept up the uneven struggle 
with nature. Reduced to the last extremity, they made clothes 
for themselves of gunny sacks and eked out a miserable exist- 
ence by picking coconuts and gathering shellfish on the beach, 
for other means of sustenance there was none. Thus two long 
years dragged slowly by and then a ship appeared in the 
offing. 

Friends of the lieutenant had at last reached the ears of 
the Mexican government and the latter had secured the good 
offices of an American naval vessel then cruising on the west 
coast. The vessel in question put out from Acapulco and 
having found the longitude of Clipperton sailed due south. 
After a time a dark speck showed upon the horizon and soon 
through their sea glasses they made out a beach fringed with 
coconut palms, on which women could be seen gesticulating 
and running to and fro. Over all, from a tall flag staff, floated 
the banner of Mexico. But behold, even as they watched, the 
colors were lowered! What could this mean? An instant 
later the flag again rose to the top of the staff. Another 
mystery ! 



90 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Running under the lea of the island, a boat was lowered 
and a party put out for the shore. Five women came down to 
meet the landing' party. They stated that they were the only 
souls on the island, but when the officer in command ques- 
tioned them as to why the flag had been lowered they were 
silent. It was evident they were concealing something. As 
to what this was he was not long in learning, for as he and 
his companions approached the flagstaff they were shocked 
at discovering near its base the dead body of the lighthouse 
keeper. The gory ax lying beside him explained the manner 
of his death ; he had been cut down from behind. 

Of course the women could no longer pretend ignorance 
of the negro's presence on the island, but they continued to 
stoutly maintain that they knew nothing of the cause of his 
death. But this much at least was apparent to the officer; he 
had been slain by one of the women while trying to lower the 
flag. 

The women and their few belongings were taken aboard 
ship and were subsequently landed at Salina Cruz, where they 
remained for some days while arrangements were being made 
for their transportation to their homes on the central plateau. 
While they were so detained many attempts were made to get 
at the truth of what had transpired on the island. But there 
were as many tales as there were women rescued and the mys- 
tery was never solved. Only this much was made clear, namely, 
that the lighthouse keeper was alive when the rescuing ship 
was first seen from the island, and dead before the landing 
party set foot on the beach. 

There is no evidence of recent volcanic action in the moun- 
tains of the Isthmus, nor are there any extinct craters of once 
active volcanoes of any considerable extent. Ragged lime- 



FARTHER AFIELD 91 

stone peaks and crater-like precipices of the same material 
are common, but no cones of lava, scoria, etc, so characteristic 
of long-continued volcanic action are encountered. Earth- 
quakes occur but are less violent and not so frequent as in most 
parts of Mexico and Central America. As dwellings of more 
than one story are seldom built but little harm is ever done 
the houses, but the larger churches are sometimes injured. 

It goes without saying that on the Pacific plains, in lati- 
tude 16° north, the climate is tropical. The mercury ranges 
between 65° and 100° F. the year round. At Salina Cruz the 
average temperature in the shade for the year is 80° F. In 
April or May a maximum temperature of 98° is reached, and 
in the winter the mercury falls to about 66° F. Persons be- 
longing to the European race residing there seldom expose 
themselves to the midday sun, but perform their journeys and 
out-of-door work so far as possible in the mornings and even- 
ings, and at night. And yet the climate, while hot, is far from 
enervating. On the whole it is a healthy climate. The natives 
both male and female, are decidely robust, and even the wives 
and children of European and American residents enjoy the 
best of health. 

The salubrity of the plains is largely due to the dryness 
of the climate. The rains begin about the first of June and 
end in September or October, and during the remaining eight 
or nine months of the year there is no rain whatever. Often 
for four or five months on a stretch not so much as a drop 
of rain falls. Often times, standing at San Geronimo when a 
norther is blowing, dense rain clouds may be seen deluging 
the elevated table-lands of Tarifa and Chivela, but the instant 
these clouds are driven over the dividing range into the dry at- 
mosphere of the Pacific plains they are absorbed and melt 



92 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

away. A rainbow is often seen in the clouds, the whole afford- 
ing a beautiful and interesting phenomenon illustrating the 
marked difference in the humidity of the atmosphere in the 
two adjacent regions. 

May is the warmest month, and December is the coolest. 
With the beginning of June come the first rains, a double bless- 
ing, for the northers cease with the coming of the rains and 
the temperature falls. Indeed the summers on the Pacific 
slope are delightful. There is no excess of moisture, a rain 
once a week being the rule; all the trees burst out in full 
foliage ; and the winds veer about to the south and blow fresh 
from the sea. 

I have spoken elsewhere of the "norther," that furious 
wind of the Isthmus. The north wind so prevalent in the Gulf 
of Mexico in the autumn and winter, spreading from the south- 
west corner of the Gulf encounters the wide entrance to the 
Coatzacoalcos valley before alluded to and, rushing up the ever 
narrowing valley, increases continually in velocity as it ap- 
proaches the narrowest portion of this funnel-shaped passage, 
until, reaching the plateaux of Chivela and Tarifa it blows a 
furious gale. Thus a gentle breeze at Minatitlan becomes a 
roaring norther ere it reaches Chivela. 

From October until May the northers blow very violently 
over the dividing ridge and Pacific plains, so violently in fact 
that on the plains the gardens and growing crops require 
thatched fences or hedges to protect them from the violence of 
the winds. During the dry season they blow for at least a 
third of the time, being most frequent in the months of Jan- 
uary and February. 

On the long narrow sandspit intervening between the 
ocean and the Tilema Lagoon the road crosses from time to 
time gullies from ten to twenty feet deep and twenty-five to 




The Jaltepfcc River is a Beautiful Stream 




The Water Cairiess oT T^huantepec 



FARTHER AFIELD 93 

fifty feet in width. These were formed, not by the action of 
water, but by the violence of the norther, which plows up the 
loose sand and carries it along like drifting snow, thus form- 
ing deep ravines crossing the country in a north and south 
direction. Roads and paths, if lying parallel with the winds, 
are rapidly converted into gullies. 

Salina Cruz is celebrated throughout Mexico as the Port 
of Eternal Winds — which is a fallacy, for the northers do not 
blow in summer. But in winter they certainly reign supreme. 
Through the depression in the hills to the north comes the 
winds, rushing with concentrated fury down the main street 
of the city. In a moment the air is full of blinding sand. The 
windows are battened down, and no one ventures on the streets 
without automobile goggles. Down the main street the norther 
rages, licking the sand clean to the very rock and piling it in 
eddies at the street corners. The front yards of the adjacent 
residences are filled with drifts and south of Luna's drug store, 
in the middle of the street, lies an immense sand dune. It 
were useless to remove it for the next norther would build an- 
other. Blowing wildly out to sea, the norther repels ships 
from the coast, often preventing for days at a time their en- 
trance to the harbor. 

Disagreeable as the northers are they are a distinct ad- 
vantage to the people of the Pacific plains. The summer cli- 
mate is, as we have seen, tempered by rains and breezes which 
at that season blow from the sea. During the six rainless 
months, on the other hand, the weather would be unbearably 
hot were it not for the northers. As it is, when the winds 
subside the blazing sun in a cloudless sky scorches the country- 
side, but not for more than two or three days at a time. Then 
the norther returns, the temperature falls, and the people 
again return to their labors in the fields. To the northers more 



94 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

than to any other one cause I ascribe the remarkable vigor of 
the Isthmean people. 

During the so-called rainy season — I say "so-called" for 
it is not very rainy, even in summer — it sometimes blows 
strongly from the south-southwest, and occasionally heavily 
from the south-southeast. 

On the mountains and plateaux of the divide the rains 
persist longer, and the dry season does not begin before De- 
cember or January. The temperature is considerably cooler 
than on the Pacific plains, the difference being even greater 
than the ordinary change due to elevation, for this would be 
less than 3° Farenheit, while the actual difference in the winter 
months ranges from 5° to 10°. The contiguous mountain 
masses on either side to the east and west, and the increased 
velocity of the northers as they pass through the narrow break 
in the Cordillera, undoubtedly account for the temperate cli- 
mate of this part of the Isthmus. During a norther the tem- 
perature sometimes falls as low as 60°, and the piercing wind 
makes it seem even colder. Thick woolen clothing and a pair 
of heavy woolen blankets are needed in this region during the 
winter months. 

Frost is never seen on the Isthmus and none of the moun- 
tain peaks have snow on them, even in the winter. 



Chapter VI. 
THE PLANT WORLD. 

THE account of no region is complete without a de- 
scription of its flora. Especially is this true of the 
tropics and nowhere more so than in the case of the 
Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Nature, everywhere exuberant in 
the tropics, seems here to surpass herself. What varied, what 
gorgeous forms of plant life! I wonder not that the first 
question asked by a Mexican of a foreigner is whether he 
does not think Mexico is very beautiful. 

All the year round in the regions of abundant rainfall, 
and in the drier sections so long as the rains persist, the coun- 
try is one great landscape garden. In the nearer distance the 
eye rests on verdant woodlands, the trees of countless variety, 
massed here and scattered there over velvety natural lawns. 
Flowering trees with their burden of blossoms, some white, 
some yellow, some mauve, and others scarlet, add color to the 
rich scene; orchids hang from the branches; and wild fruits 
of many sorts ripen in season. Picture all this with the ever- 
present mountains for a background, and you have a scene a 
thousand times repeated on the Isthmus. 

Such is the scene which on the Gulf plains greets the 
eye at all seasons of the year. On the Pacific plains, as stated 
in the last chapter, no rain falls between October and May. 
Throughout the winter the trees are withered and sear. In 
April and May a few species, responding to the increasing 
warmth, put forth foliage, but not until June heralds the first 
rains are the woods again in full leaf. 

95 



96 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

It is different where irrigation is possible ; in the irrigated 
tracts of the Pacific plains, as on the Gulf side, the trees are in 
full leaf the year round. Supplied with the life-giving liquid, 
the results are startling. In the gardens of Salina Cruz I have 
seen coconut trees barely six years of age with trunks a foot 
in diameter and already beginning to fruit. 

With the limited space at our disposal a detailed descrip- 
tion of the flora of this section is impossible, and in the pages 
which follow I shall attempt no more than a cursory view of 
the more common timber trees, the dyes and dyewoods, the 
lawn and flowering trees, and the leading fruits of that 
favored land. 

Owing to the semi-arid climate and the small amount of 
water available for irrigation under present conditions, but a 
small acreage has been cleared on the Pacific plains, and, due 
to the same cause, the tree growth is in general of a stunted 
nature. P^or the most part the plains are covered with a tree 
growth not exceeding twenty feet in height, and the individual 
trees are seldom a foot in diameter. Along the shores of the 
lagoons and near the water courses the growth is more luxuri- 
ant. Here and in the numerous valleys running back into the 
mountains is an abundant supply of dimension timber to meet 
the needs of the Isthmus for a century to come. 

On the arid plains lignum vitae, mesquite, rosewood, and 
calabash are the most common and most valuable woods for 
construction. They are all small and extremely hard, even 
those varieties which when grown in other localities having 
a moderate rainfall are accounted soft woods ; this is one effect 
of the arid climate. Black mesquite is employed in the manu- 
facture of gun stocks and was in great demand during the 
European war. 

The Palo-mulato, a conspicuous forest tree with a red, 



THE PLANT WORLD 97 

smooth bark and generally destitute of leaves, is held in great 
esteem by the Indians for its medicinal properties, a decoction 
made from the bark being used in the treatment of malarial 
fever. Being extremely light, it is also used in the construc- 
tion of rafts and floats. Another tree, the copalchi, abounds 
on the plains, its scarred trunk, stripped of its bark, constant- 
ly attracting the traveler's attention. It is a medium-sized 
tree with long spreading branches and scanty foliage, and the 
bark is of a light gray color, bitter to the taste, and decidedly 
aromatic. A decoction of this bark is also used in the treatment 
of intermittant fever. 

The Chimalapa mountain region, which wails in the plains 
on the northeast, abounds in white pine, pitch pine, Spanish 
oak, cypress, mammee zapote, and chico zapote. These valu- 
able timbers might be easily floated down the Coatzacoalcos 
and its tributaries to convenient railroad points, whence they 
could be transported wherever needed on the Isthmus. The 
numerous rapids in the upper courses of the rivers afford 
abundant water power for saw-mills. 

Many of the pines are of great size and very tall and 
straight. Pines first appear at a height of one thousand feet 
above the sea, on the higher ridges and plateaux forming ex- 
tensive forests of gigantic trees, entirely free from under- 
brush. The ground beneath is carpeted with a growth of 
verdant grasses which, combined with the bracing atmosphere 
and the odor of the forest, renders these pine forests most en- 
joyable after months spent amid the swamps and jungles of 
the lowlands. 

The "oak" found here is inferior to the oak of the United 
States but is nevertheless of considerable value as a construc- 
tion material. Both the zapote mamay and the chico zapote 
furnish timber of great durability. Neither are, when prop- 



98 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

erly cured, attacked by the white ant or other insects or 
affected by the weather. Because of this they are preferred 
for railroad crossties. It is said that well cured zapote ties 
never decay unless split by the spikes when they are laid. The 
chico zapote, especially, is a wonderful tree. It grows to a 
goodly size, specimens three feet in diameter being common; 
it makes a grand shade tree when grown in the open ; it bears 
that delicious fruit called sapodilla in English and chico in 
Spanish, a globular fruit about two inches in diameter, 
with the color and taste of maple sugar; and its sap, chicle, 
constitutes the base of all chewing gum. 

Another famous tree of this region is the lignum vitae 
(guayacan). The tree is quite common but logs of merchant- 
able size are difficult to obtain, for the forests within reach of 
the railroads have been culled for this commodity for many 
years. At every railway station guayacan logs may be seen 
awaiting shipment, but few of them measure more than ten 
feet in length by a foot in diameter. Grown in the open the 
lignum vitae makes a beautiful shade tree, especially in spring 
when it is loaded with beautiful dark blue flowers. 



Dyewoods are among the leading exports, certain sections 
being rich in Brazilwood which yields a red dye and Logwood, 
which dies black. Besides these dyes many others, obtained 
from various plants, are used by the Indian women in painting 
the great calabashes used by them as receptacles for produce 
carried on the head, and in coloring their gay apparel. The 
pit of the avocado (guacate) is used for marking clothing, 
from the achiote (Bixa orellana) a scarlet dye is obtained, 
green ebony (Chloroxylun) yields a green pigment, the palo 
amarillo (Morus tinctoria) yields yellow fustic, and from cas- 
calote and uale (Genipa Americana) black dyes are obtained. 



THE PLANT WORLD 99 

This is the home of those two celebrated dyes of the 
eighteenth century, indigo and cochineal, the latter being ob- 
tained from an insect which feeds upon the Tuna de Espaiia, 
a species of cactus. Indeed, as late as 1850 indigo was the 
leading export of this district ; but with the advent of mineral 
dyes the demand for these products ceased, and they are now 
produced only on a small scale to furnish dyes for native 
fabrics. 

The Zapotec women are very fond of the Tyrian purple 
skirt, the dye for which is secured from a shell-fish (Aplysia 
depilans) which inhabits the salt waters of this coast. The 
process of obtaining the dye is a tedious one, since each mollusc 
only yields a drop or two of the dye, which is emitted on gentle 
pressure of the shell-fish. The dyed fabric is very expensive, 
three or four yards of cloth (enough for a wrapper) com- 
manding a handsome figure. It has a disagreeable fishy odor, 
which is, however, greatly esteemed by the Zapotec women. 
Thus fashion perverts even the unsophisticated Indian's sense 
of smell. 

The Indians show great skill in the ornamentation of the 
jecapezle in which the Tehuana carries her burden to and from 
market. These jecapezles are made from great gourds grown 
in the gardens of the Indians, the size of which may be gath- 
ered from the fact that the largest jecapezles exceed two feet 
in diameter. The ornamentation of these jecapezles in beau- 
tiful flower designs is an industry peculiar to Santa Maria de 
Guiniagate, a town lying among inaccessible hills some twenty- 
five miles west of San Geronimo. They are also largely made 
at Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of Chiapas. 

The lawn of more northern climes, with its shade and 
ornamental trees scattered singly here and there or gathered 



100 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

in tasteful clumps, forms no part of the domestic economy 
of this people. Their conception of home comfort is the little 
cloistered patio with its rows of potted plants. And yet what 
wonderful lawns this region could produce. The repertory of 
beautiful shade and ornamental trees is inexhaustible. 

Among the former I may mention the Lambimbo, a tree 
with a compact head, in outline much resembling the hack- 
berry. Then there is the lignum vitae, a small tree with low- 
spreading top much resembling the haw of more northern 
lawns. The Amate or wild fig is also common. It not only 
makes a magnificent shade tree but it yields a small dry fig 
which the natives cook with sugar, obtaining quite a palatable 
sauce. The Almendra or false almond is a beautiful little 
shade tree, appreciated by natives and foreigners alike. 
Its limbs grow in whorles, with a space of five or six feet be- 
tween each two successive whorles. Besides its glossy green 
foliage it bears an almond much affected by children, both 
the exterior and the pit being eaten by the greedy urchins. 

We must not forget that great prickly fellow, the ham- 
matti or wild cotton tree. When young the trunk is covered 
with gigantic prickles, but the tree is perhaps the best avail- 
able shade tree in these parts. Remarkably upright in growth 
and covered with a prodigality of foliage, it is also a remark- 
ably quick grower and in time reaches gigantic proportions. 
These immense trees are of no value as timber, as the wood 
is very soft and decays in a short time; but they are of con- 
siderable value to the natives for the cotton which they bear. 
They bear great pods like overgrown milkweed pods. These 
pods are packed with a sort of cotton which is used for filling 
pillows and cushions. The seed, kapok, has a commercial 
value, selling for about twenty cents per pound, and might be 




Coconut Palms Grow Luxuriantly on the Isthmus 



THE PLANT WORLD 101 

made profitable were it not for the difficulty in extracting the 
seeds. 

The Ule, or India rubber tree, abounds but attains no 
great size in that region. Its horizontal spreading top and 
the fact that it does not shed its leaves in the dry season, 
render it an exceptionally fine shade tree. 

We invariably think of a tropical country as a land of 
flowers. In this respect the Philippines, which I visited many 
years ago, hardly came up to my expectations. There were 
flowers there, of course, but I should hardly call it a land of 
flowers. But the term certainly applies to southern Mexico, 
where flowers bloom eternal ; and it is not so much the flowers 
of the ground as the flowering trees which attract the eye. 

And then what flowering trees there are for lawns. 
There is never a time in all the year when the landscape is 
not gladdened by the bright flowers of some magnificent flow- 
ering tree ; in March the pink-flowering Robles ; in April and 
May the Arbol de Fuego or "Caballero", in all its scarlet glory ; 
and the falling petals of the latter have no sooner strewn the 
path than the Tenpasuchil on the hillsides bursts forth in 
white. This is the softest of trees and when you break off a 
branch the milk-white sap fairly spurts from the tree. After 
this the Bignonia puts forth its yellow flowers and the Jasmine, 
which here is a tree eight or ten inches in diameter, is filled 
with dainty white blossoms. 

But grandest of all is the Hapanico, which begins to 
bloom in December and does not cease until the latter part of 
March, and all that time is loaded with great yellow tulip- 
shaped flowers. O wonderful tree ! Thy presence alone suf- 
fices to make of Mexico a paradise. I had a dream. Lo, I 
was in the Garden of Allah, and behold, on every hand great 



102 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Hapanico trees stretching forth their hands toward me, and in 
every hand six golden tulips. 

In the public bath gardens at Tehuantepec there is a 
plant having leaves like the maple. It bears a large white 
trumpet-shaped flower in the morning, which by noon turns 
pink and the same day perishes. This seems miraculous, and 
I was myself inclined to doubt the truth of it until I had occa- 
sion to visit Mr. Barker at Santa Maria, as mentioned in a 
former chapter. Upon my visiting him he showed me a snow- 
white flower which he had picked and placed in a vase ; and lo, 
when we returned a couple of hours later, it was bright pink. 
The flower is called Amistad del Dia and I was told grows 
wild in the mountains of Oaxaca. The name, which is by in- 
terpretation "A Day's Friendship" or "The Friendship of a 
Day," is certainly appropriate. 

The Mata-palo, or tree-killer, is a singular plant. Be- 
ginning life as a vine, it finally becomes to all intents and pur- 
pose a tree. Starting as a little vine not larger than a fish- 
line, it either ascends the tree it is about to destroy, or springs 
as a parasite from one of its branches, later establishing con- 
nection with the earth by sending down roots. Growing in 
size it eventually envelopes the trunk and branches of the tree 
with huge coils, which in time grow together and entirely hide 
the tree from sight, save a few of the upper limbs. It always 
destroys the tree to which it has attached itself, and presently 
dies. And yet this pestilential plant is a thing of rare beauty. 
All the year through it is laden with flame colored, honey- 
suckle like blossoms, and the prettiest sight that greets the 
traveler's eyes as he passes through the woods of the plain 
is that of trees lit up with the flame of this consuming para- 
site. 



THE PLANT WORLD 103 

I suppose there is not in all the world a region better 
adapted to the growing of tropical fruits than this same Isth- 
mus of Tehuantepec. Despite the general lack of enterprise it 
abounds in fruit, though none is at present exported. In the 
markets one will always find in season an abundance of ba- 
nanas, coconuts, oranges, pineapples, chicos, and mangoes, 
which are the principal fruits raised ; and custard apples, sour- 
sops, tamarind, pomegranites, limes, and many other fruits 
are always to be had. 

Wherever there is water the coconut grows luxu- 
riantly on the Pacific plains. In six years from planting the 
tree is a foot in diameter and begins to bear. Beautiful coco- 
nut groves surround Tehuantepec on every hand and the mar- 
ket is always well supplied with the fruit, little Tehuanas 
sitting in rows with trays of nearly ripe coconuts. Slip one 
of them a nickel and she immediately whips out a knife, cuts 
a hole in one end of a nut, and presents you with a cool deli- 
cious drink. The nuts are used for no other purpose and only 
enough are raised for local use. 

The pineapples of this section are among the largest and 
best in the world ; certainly better than those produced in any 
other part of Mexico. With a suitable market, here lies a great 
industry awaiting development. The pineapple and coconut 
are easily the best fruits of this section. 

There are two crops of oranges yearly. The first crop, of 
small yellow oranges, ripens from October to January; the 
second, of large green oranges, comes in summer. The former 
are very sweet but are not equal to the orange of Florida or 
California. In fact, the Pacific plains are rather too tropical 
for the orange, which does better on the adjoining highlands. 
The best fruit grows at Santa Maria de Chimalapa, its super- 
ior quality being doubtless largely due to the clear white sand 



104 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

in which the trees are grown. A small bitter orange, probably 
escaped from cultivation, is found growing in the woods in 
many localities. 

It is singular that the lime is not more generally culti- 
vated. The Mexican lime is shaped like a small lemon, and 
indeed its flavor more resembles that of the lemon than the 
ordinary round lime. I ever think with pleasure of the little 
lime tree which grew by the porch of the American consulate 
at Salina Cruz, from the juice of whose fruit I drank for 
nine consecutive months during the year 1918. 

There are many varieties of the banana, which ripens at 
all seasons of the year. The most interesting variety is the 
Enano, a dwarf banana. This kind is much raised because 
of the destructive northers which fell the standard varieties 
unless well protected. The fruit of this dwarf variety is fuM- 
sized and bunches will often be seen touching the ground. The 
plantain is ubiquitous. The Indians prefer it to the banana 
and it constitutes for them, after Indian corn and black beans, 
the most important article of diet. There are few native 
dishes as palatable as the fried plantain. 

The native mango flourishes wherever there is under- 
ground water, bearing a small but very sweet fruit. Its sea- 
son is June and it is quite free from the turpentine flavor of 
the much larger "Manila" mango, which has been introduced 
and is raised to a limited extent. It is not the easiest thing 
in the world to eat a mango without soiling one's fingers ; but 
I noticed that at some of the hotels the guests were provided 
with "Mango forks," which obviated the difficulty appreciably. 
The mango fork has a long central tine, very sharp, and two 
short side tines. The long tine is thrust into the aperature at 
the base of the mango pit, while the side tines keep the fruit 



THE PLANT WORLD 105 

from revolving; and then the mango may be peeled and eaten 
at leisure, without soiling the fingers. 

Another wonderful tree is the papaw (carica papaya) or 
melon tree, which bears a fruit about the size of a cantaloupe 
and intermediate in flavor between cantaloupe and squash. 
The tree is very short lived, living only about six years; but 
it grows prodigiously, reaching a height of eight feet the first 
year, by which time it has begun to bear. It bears melons, a 
great bunch of them, right up under the crown; and at all 
year, by which time it has begun to bear. It bears melons, a 
ing, larger ones, big green ones, and one or two ripe ones. 
Every day for the whole five years you can pick your melon 
from the tree! 

The papaw is the ordinary dessert fruit of the tropics, 
taking the place of our musk melon. What fortunes might 
be made from it if it could be handled commercially ! But un- 
fortunately it will not bear shipment. Papaws are of two sorts, 
yellow and red; the latter being the larger, but inferior in 
flavor to the yellow variety. In addition to its use as a food 
the papaw is the source of the drug papain, obtained by punc- 
turing the unripe fruit. This drug greatly resembles pepsin. 

I have spoken of the chico zapote, that delicious fruit so 
closely resembling maple sugar in color and flavor. Its cousin, 
the Zapote mammae, is a much larger fruit containing two 
immense seeds, each of the size of a small hen's egg. The 
meat of these seeds is very rich in oil, which is used by the 
Tehuanas as a hair dressing. There are two other zapotes, 
the black and the white. The latter is not common in these 
parts. 

Among the most delicious of tropical fruits may be classed 
the anona or custard apple. The latter designation is apt to 
deceive one not acquainted with this fruit, which does not in 



106 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

the remotest degree resemble the apple. It is a heart-shaped 
fruit with a very thin skin. The skin of the upper portion is 
broken and then the rich interior, of the consistency of thick 
custard, is scooped out with a spoon. Two species of anona, 
the yellow and the pink, are grown. It struck me as singular 
that the latter, which is quite distinct from the yellow or com- 
mon variety, was so little grown. It possesses a peculiar but 
decidedly pleasing flavor. 

Those who have never penetrated south of the Rio Grande 
may form some idea of the anona from the so-called "papaw," 
a little fruit growing wild in the thickets of the central and 
southern states of the American Union, for this fruit is a 
northern relation of the custard apple which has strayed far 
from its tropical home. It will, however, give one but a faint 
conception of the exquisite flavor of the anona. It is unfor- 
tunate that the term "papaw" is applied to this fruit (Asimina 
triloba), which is in no way related to the true papaw of the 
tropics. 

Guanabana ! That word stirs the soul of every true Mex- 
ican. The guanabana, or soup sop — to call it by it's ill-omened 
English name — is a shy bearer, but one or two of its great 
green fruits will always be found in the market, where they 
are used in the preparation of that most delicious of all cool 
drinks, guanabana. Mexico is a great country for "refrescos" 
or cool drinks and one has his choice of lemon, orange, lime, 
pineapple, tamarind, coconut, and guanabana, but the wise 
man always chooses the latter. 

The pomegranite is quite generally grown but does not 
seem to prosper. Nor does the country appear to be suited to 
the date. I saw an occasional date palm, but only one in bear- 
ing — in the garden of my old friend, George Adamik of San 
Geronimo. The fruit was barely edible, but the tree had just 



THE PLANT WORLD 107 

begun to bear and it is possible that the quality of the fruit 
will improve as the tree grows older. Here and there one 
comes across a tree of the tame fig, which seems to do well, but 
whose value is unknown to the Indian cultivator. 

The Hicaco (coco plum) grows on a small tree seldom ex- 
ceeding eight feet in height. This is of all trees the most 
difficult to transplant, in which respect, as well as in gen- 
eral appearance, it resembles the wild crabapple. The fruit 
is perfectly round, about one and one-half inches in diameter, 
and of three colors, white, black and pink. It is used ex- 
tensively in the preparation of a preserve, which to the for- 
eigner is decidedly insipid. But there is one compensation. 
The hicaco has a very large pit which is easily broken by the 
teeth, disclosing a kernel which is much more palatable than 
the preserve. 

Another fruit commonly used for preserves is the Te- 
jocote or Mexican thornapple (haw). These grow both wild 
and in the state of cultivation in the high valleys among the 
Oaxaca mountains, whence they are brought on pack mules to 
the cities of the plain. They are immense thornapples aver- 
aging over an inch in length. In the hands of a progressive 
race the tejocote might easily be developed into a fine fruit, 
its size and flavor improved; but no improvement is possible 
with the Indian. Everything is raised from the seed. 

There is a native black grape, of a musky flavor and about 
the size of the Concord. It grows wild and is especially abund- 
ant in the mountains of the dividing range. A very good wine 
resembling claret is obtained from this grape. 

Perhaps in this connection the avocado or alligator pear 
(Sp., aguacate) should be mentioned, though to my way of 
thinking this so-called fruit is more properly classed as a 



108 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

salad vegetable. But be that as it may, southern Mexico seems 
especially adapted to its culture and the number of varieties 
which one finds there is great. 

I first became interested in this fruit through a Mr. 
Popenoe who dropped into Salina Cruz a few months after 
my arrival. Popenoe was traveling as special representative 
of the university of California, employed by that institution 
to collect new varieties of avocado. He informed me that there 
were countless varieties of this fruit, and during the time he 
was in southern Mexico I am sure made considerable additions 
to this collection. He spent several months exploring that re- 
gion and the neighboring parts of Guatemala for new vari- 
eties, going out from Salina Cruz and returning to that point 
every few weeks. 

Popenoe was a decidedly bright and agreeable young man 
and I always looked forward with pleasurable anticipation to 
his periodical returns to the Hotel Salina Cruz. He was also, 
as one needed to be in his calling, a fearless man. One day 
he blew in after a trip up the west coast, Pochutla way. 

"Well, my son," I said as we shook hands, ''from whence 
come you this time and how has Allah prospered your under- 
takings?" 

"I'm just back from Pochutla and the region beyond, 
where I obtained several new varieties of avocados." 

"The region beyond! Indeed? why, I understood the 
rebels were in control of the interior back from Pochutla." 

"So they are," he replied. "I came to their outposts not 
a mile from Pochutla." 

"Ah! And of course they turned you back?" 

"Not by a jug full. A Gringo can go anywhere he pleases 
in this country so long as he minds his own business and 
doesn't interest himself in matters political. When the rebel 




Hf'n.lquai'tei-.- o1" ^ I'^o^perous Isthmus Plantation 




A Banana Plantati(Mi 




THE PLANT WORLD 109 

picket halted me I explained my business — told him I was a 
botanist from the United States out collecting new varieties of 
avocados. 'Are you a Carrancista or are you for the Felicis- 
tas?' said he. 'Neither,' said I, 'for neither; I don't care a 
peg about your blooming troubles.' 'Pass on with God's bless- 
ing,' he replied with a laugh, and I passed on. I was several 
days behind the lines and met with no interference whatever." 

Popenoe remained with us until the late fall and then took 
ship for Gautemala. 

It is hardly necessary to mention garden vegetables, which 
grow to perfection wherever irrigated and given the proper 
attention. They can of course be grown the year round. All 
the sorts grown in temperate climates thrive there save those 
which, like peas, white potatoes, and the members of the cab- 
bage family, are suited only to severe climes. In view of this 
limitation it is to be feared that pea soup and sauer kraut 
will never be popular dishes on the Isthmus. I noticed but 
two species of garden vegetables differing from those culti- 
vated in northern Europe and America, the yam, which there 
takes the place of the potato, and a string bean the pods of 
which grew to the enormous length of a yard. It must have 
averaged fifty beans to the pod. 



Chapter VII. 
ANIMAL LIFE. 

WILD animals abound throughout eastern Oaxaca. 
The Zapotec Indian is not much given to hunting 
and as a consequence there has always been an 
abundance of game; and during the eight years of civil war 
which afflicted the country game multiplied greatly, for the 
sportsman no longer came, ammunition was scarce, and few 
were licensed to carry fire-arms. With peace restored to the 
land it will be a sportsman's paradise. 

The woods teem with deer of several species and every 
year thousands of deerskins are exported to the United 
States.* The deer come in quite close to the urban centers 
and afford great sport where the country is not infested by 
lurking bands of rebels and brigands. Deer are especially 
numerous in the valley of the Ostuta. 

There is also great abundance of cats : The lordly puma 
or American lion; the jaguar, here called **tigre;" the wild 
cat; and the ocelot or **tigrio." On my first arrival in the 
country, at Mogane among the hills of the pass, an Indian 
offered me a beautiful jaguar skin for a peso and a half (75c). 
My friend Adamik, one of the landmarks of San Geronimo, 
kept a beautiful tigrio in a cage. This beast was widely 
known, as everyone who visited San Geronimo must of neces- 
sity visit Adamik and so must, equally of necessity, drink a 
"chica" with him and inspect the tigrio. But the beast as he 
grew older developed a taste for poultry, in punishment for 

*Over 95 pei- cent of Mexico's product of deerskin is exported. 

110 



ANIMAL LIFE 111 

which he was handed over to Gonzalez Soto who took him to 
Mexico City and delivered him to the Red Cross, and that was 
the end of Adamik's tigrio. 

Peccaries are also common. They are very gregarious, 
wandering through the mountains in immense herds. They 
have a great antipathy for snakes, which they search out and 
kill with great zest. Living principally upon roots their flesh 
is excellent, and both it and their lard are much esteemed by 
the natives. Though small the peccary is of a very truculent 
disposition and their habit of treeing lone travelers is well 
known. 

Both hares and opossum are extremely common on the 
Isthmus, and their flesh is in general use for food. One never 
visits a market without seeing a liberal assortment of hares 
for sale. The opossum is the pest of henroosts everywhere. 

The quadrupeds, the armadillo, the tejan or coatimondi, 
and the tapir deserve special mention. Armadillos are very 
plentiful and their meat decidedly toothsome. When the In- 
dian has killed his armadillo and removed the flesh he does 
not discard the animal's coat-of-mail, but devotes it to a most 
unique use. The shell is carefully cleaned and rolled in upon 
itself so as to make a receptacle capable of holding several 
quarts of grain, the ends of a cord are attached to both sides, 
the Indian sower fills the shell with seed, passes the cord over 
his neck, and with the receptacle thus held conveniently in 
front of him, sets forth to sow his field. The armadillo shell 
is more often used as a wallet or knapsack. It is also employed 
in making the sounding-board for the jarana, a four-stringed 
instrument of the guitar family in use among the Indians of 
southern Vera Cruz. 

The tejan is a cousin of the raccoon, one of the dwarf 
members of the bear family. They are gray above and nearly 



112 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

white beneath, very long bodied, and with snouts and tails of 
prodigious length. There are two species, one of which lives 
in solitary pairs while the other is gregarious. They are very 
active and perpetually in motion. The tejan is also a great 
novelty seeker and is, like novelty seekers generally, very 
stupid. A tejan will come down from a tree to look at a coyote, 
who pretending to be dead, waits until the tejan begins to play 
with his body. It then falls an easy prey to the coyote's cun- 
ning and its own curiosity. It is easily tamed and makes a 
great pet. 

Not the least interesting animal of the Isthmus is that 
strange creature, half hog and half elephant, the tapir. The 
tapir is a timid and solitary animal and is generally to be 
found only in the most secluded spots; but strange to say is 
easily domesticated if caught when young. Its skin is of won- 
derful thickness. No use is made of it at the present time, 
but it would seem that it should make excellent material for 
shoe soles. The skin is covered with short, lustrous, steel- 
gray hair. The head, while flatter, is much like that of an 
elephant without tusks; and, indeed, while they somewhat 
resemble the hog in general outline, on the other hand the tapir 
is one of the cleanest of animals as the hog is one of the 
dirtiest. The tapir is found throughout this region wherever 
the timber is dense, but especially abounds in the upper 
Coatzacoalcos and Rio Verde valleys. Among the natives it 
is called Anteburro, that is, "once an ass." 

Vampire bats, of which there are several species, are 
quite numerous in mountainous or hilly localities. One sort is 
as large as a pullet, measuring on extended wings from two to 
three feet, while another variety is no larger than a meadow 
lark. They are most numerous in the wilds of the Chimalapa 
mountains, where they attack the horses of travelers on the 



ANIMAL LIFE 113 

trail almost every night, often biting the same horse two or 
three times. They make an opening in the skin about a quar- 
ter of an inch in diameter, and not infrequently blood will 
be seen oozing from the wound several hours later. Two ser- 
vants of the Shufeldt expedition, which traversed these moun- 
tains in 1871, were bitten by vampires about the feet. They 
did not feel the bat until it was in the act of flying away. There 
is an unconfirmed belief that the vampire keeps his wings in 
motion while he bites, which prevents the bite being felt. 

Death seldom results from the bite of a vampire save 
in the case of infants bitten more than once the same night. 
Neither horses nor men seem greatly affected by loss of blood. 
Animals in the open are never attacked on a bright night, for 
the vampires, disliking the light, always enter houses and 
other dark places for their prey. A candle left burning in a 
room is a sure defense. The Indians of the mountains close 
their houses and out-buildings carefully to exclude these blood- 
thirsty creatures. Fortunately their operations are generally 
confined to the neighborhood of the wild places in which they 
dwell. 

Caves are numerous in the limestone hills and mountains 
in and around the Pacific plains, and many of these caves are 
tenanted by bats which pour forth in multitudes at set of sun. 
Mount Quiengola is especially rich in bat caves. Vast quan- 
tities of bat guano have accumulated in these caves and some 
day the collection of this guano will prove a lucrative busi- 
ness. Some guano is removed even at the present time. 

The commonest bird in the neighborhood of human habi- 
tations is the Zopilote (buzzard), which, in partnership with 
the hogs and dogs of the land, performs the duties of public 
scavenger. All day long he sails on tireless wing over city 



114 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

and village keeping a sharp lookout for carrion. His useful- 
ness is so generally recognized that in the state of Vera Cruz 
it is made a misdemeanor to kill a zopilote. The law is not so 
strict in Oaxaca ; nevertheless no one thinks of molesting them, 
with the result that they are almost as tame as domestic 
poultry. 

Another bird very much in evidence is the Sanate. The 
male bird has glossy black plumage and a very long beak and 
tail. He is quite a noisy fellow, and during the spring and 
summer one is seldom out of hearing of his song. The female 
bird is colored a deep gray. The Sanates breed in early sum- 
mer, building their nests in the most public places. In the 
summer of 1918 there were no less than seven sanate nests 
in the little back yard of the Hotel Salina Cruz, and when the 
little birds came the fourteen old birds kept up an uproar from 
morning to night which was positively deafening. 

The greenwoods are full of bird life, covies of noisy green 
parrots with red wings, many colored macaws, lovies, parro- 
quets, and tiny gray owls not larger than a dollar. This is 
also the home of the Chachalaca or mountain fowl, a fowl the 
size of a small hen but in appearance much like the heron. In 
color they are a greenish gray. They are easily domesticated 
and cross readily with the domestic fowl, the cross making 
great game birds. 

In season the harbor at Salina Cruz is alive with great 
pelicans, who pursue their fishing operations totally oblivious 
of the close proximity of man, and the waters of the great 
lagoons are tenanted by thousands of wild ducks. 

Facing the little park in Salina Cruz is the residence of 
a Mr. Tunnell. He has lived there many years and being some- 
thing of a cripple takes delight in keeping pets. He has six 
curassows. The curassow runs wild in the forests of southern 



ANIMAL LIFE 115 

Mexico, Central America, and the northern part of South 
America, but is easily domesticated. They are about the size 
of turkeys which they much resemble in appearance, but are 
much tamer than turkeys and would make valuable poultry, 
were it not that they lay very few eggs. The male birds are 
black and the hens are brown. 

One of Mr. Tunnell's curassows was called Joe. Old Joe 
was quite old and had a crippled foot. He spent much of his 
time sitting on his master's knee. Then there was a famous 
hen curassow named Sarah. It was Mr. Tunnell's custom to 
sit in front of his house in the evening, and when I called upon 
him on such occasions Sarah would insist on getting between 
us to protect him. She would make a very disconcerting noise 
like the purring of a cat, and peck at me. 

One day Capt. George Bryant, who commanded the port 
dredge "Mexico," invited me to make a trip with him; so at 
seven o'clock in the morning I went down to the dredge. We 
steamed out to the sand bank in the outer harbor. Two great 
18-inch tubes were lowered to the bottom of the harbor and 
the suction pumps were set going. We went below to break- 
fast. By the time we had finished and came on deck the 
dredge was loaded full of sand and mud. In less than three- 
quarters of an hour she had sucked up two thousand tons of 
mud. 

The dredge got under way and sailed out into the open 
sea. About a half mile from the harbor entrance we stopped, 
the ship's machinery was set in motion, and lo, great doors 
opened in the bottom of the ship and her cargo of mud sank 
into the sea. The dredge had great watertight compartments 
on each side which kept it from sinking when the water rushed 
into the hold. 

While all this was in progress I noticed a bird hovering 



116 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

far above. He was built on the plan of an aeroplane and 
hardly moved his wings as he sailed about. The captain in- 
formed me that it was a Frigate Bird. 

All of a sudden Mr. Bird espied a piece of meat floating 
on the surface of the water, and down he dashed. He seized 
the meat, bore it aloft, dropped it, darted down and seized it 
again, and once more bore it aloft. He repeated this pro- 
cedure several times. What do you suppose his object to 
have been? You will never guess; and yet it is as plain as 
day. He had no hands to hold the meat while he ate it, so he 
could only take one bite at a time and let it fall. 

Iguanas and smaller lizards of many kinds are very plen- 
tiful. The iguana is much esteemed for his flesh, the Indians 
preferring it to beef or chicken, and one never visits the mar- 
ket without seeing a goodly number of these reptiles, each 
with mouth tied shut to prevent him from biting. They are 
most repulsive-looking creatures, from two to three feet in 
length, with immense tails by which the Tehuana carries them 
from the market to the cooking-pot. The choicest are obtained 
from the banks of unfrequented streams far up in the moun- 
tains. The reptile is caught in traps or chased into its hole 
in the earth and then dug out. 

Alligators infest the waters on both sides of the Isthmus, 
being particularly numerous along the middle reaches of the 
Coatzacoalcos River. They are also found in smaller num- 
bers in the great lagoons of the Pacific plain. These saurian 
monsters destroy a considerable number of young cattle. 
Shooting them affords great sport, and so numerous are they 
on the Coatzacoalcos that the hunter can with ease dispatch 
a dozen in a few hours. 

Sharks abound along the coast and in the principal rivers. 




The Bats are Another Scavenger, Attacking Humans as Well as Insects After Dark 



ANIMAL LIFE 117 

Facts hardly justify their reputation for voracity, for Huave 
Indians are often seen standing up to their middles in the 
water, some distance from the beach at the mouth of the 
Tehuantepec River, with dozens of great sharks swimming 
lazily along quite near them. 

During the greater part of the year, owing to the dryness 
of the climate, one is but little troubled with insect pests on 
the Pacific plains. The cockroach is practically unknown and 
flies and mosquitoes are so little in evidence that mosquito 
nets are not in use ; and though the first rains of June herald 
a recrudescence of insect life, insects never become so trouble- 
some as in more northern climes. 

The effect of the early rains is startling. The trees, which 
until then were for the most part dry and sere, put forth their 
foliage almost over night, the insects begin to buzz about and 
make a general nuisance of themselves, and the voice of tKtj 
frog is heard from every damp depression. 

I shall never forget our first real rain. It just poured 
down for twenty-four hours and then, during the night, the 
clouds cleared away. The next morning the sun came up 
bright and clear and the streets were completely dry, there 
being a considerable slope to the sea and the soil being quite 
sandy. You can imagine my surprise when I stepped from the 
hotel into the street. As I moved along the path hundreds of 
toads jumped to either side. The ground was literally covered 
with them. Where do you suppose they came from? 

Well, that was a mystery to me until I came to the Amer- 
ican consulate. There were rifts of sand in the yard of the 
consulate, blown there by the incessant northers, and I per- 
ceived that the rifts were full of holes, and a toad was jumping 
from every hole. This plague of toads lasted for but one day 
and then they disappeared. I was told this occurs every year. 



118 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

I suppose the old mother toads lay their eggs in the sand and 
the first good rain breaks them open, and out jumps Mr. Toad. 

The sea yields great tribute and would yield much more 
were the Zapotec Indians inclined to the water, which they are 
not. Nevertheless the markets are always well supplied with 
fish of many sorts. Turtle's eggs are as abundant as hen's 
eggs. An immense species of crawfish is obtained from the 
sea, while the fresh-water fisheries teem with a smaller species 
of the same shellfish. Shrimps, also, are very abundant, and 
constitute an important article of export. 

Pearls are mentioned among the gifts which the ancient 
Zapotec kings made to the Spanish conquistadores ; and pearls 
are still found in the waters of the Pacific a few miles west of 
Salina Cruz. In this neighborhood there exist extensive beds 
of pearl oysters from which the natives have taken, from time 
to time, many valuable pearls. During some seasons the In- 
dians inhabiting the coast collect a considerable number of 
pearls by diving naked into the sea, and this work is said to be 
more remunerative than any other employment within reach 
of these people; but, notwithstanding this, there are other 
seasons when, for some unknown reason, they cannot be in- 
duced to engage in this labor. 



Chapter VII. 
THE INDIAN PEOPLES. 

IN writ of eld it is affirmed of the renowned Caliph Ha- 
roun al-Raschid, Prince of Believers and Vicegerent of 
God on earth, that at the height of his glory he ruled 
over no less than three hundred races of men. Be that as it 
may, certain it is that he that holdeth the scepter in Mexico 
beareth sway over many more, and of these the greater part 
be divers tribes of red men, or Indians as they are called in 
the western world. 

A description of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec would be 
incomplete without some account of its inhabitants, and this 
in turn would be of little value if the Indian were omitted; 
for the Indian looms large in this region. It may be, as we 
are told, that one-fifth of the population of Mexico is white; 
but that is taking the republic as a whole. On the central 
plateau of Mexico there is much white blood. For four hun- 
dred years the plateau regions have received a constant, and 
during certain periods a considerable immigration from Spain. 
There the Spaniard could live under conditions substantially 
similar to those to which he was accustomed in the homeland. 

But the Spaniard never settled to any considerable extent 
in the tierra caliente (the hot coastal zone) , and hence the pop- 
ulation there has remained predominantly Indian. This is 
true of the Isthmus. In the larger towns there are some 
whites and mestizos, though even there the great majority 
are aborigines. But the bulk of the inhabitants live in villages 
or on isolated rancherias, and here you find nothing but full- 

119 



120 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

blood Indians. Taking the Isthmus as a whole, it is safe to 
say that not one-tenth of the population possesses any ap- 
preciable strain of white blood. 

Four Indian races dwell upon the Isthmus. The Gulf 
plains and the lower Coatzacoalcos Valley are peopled by 
Aztecs, the mountains of the center by the Choque-Mixes, and 
the Pacific plains by the Zapotecs. Forming a small enclave 
in the Zapotec area are the Huaves, a tribe of fishermen in- 
habiting the shores of the great lagoons. 

Of these races the Zapotecs, an off"shoot of the noble race 
which anciently ruled over and still dwells in the great moun- 
tainous region to the northwest, easily stand first. Four cen- 
turies of subjugation have not sufficed to extinguish the na- 
tional spirit. They inhabit the Pacific plains and the elevated 
table-lands from Tarifa to Petapa. The Zapotecs are the most 
intelhgent as well as the most industrious Indians on the 
Isthmus and in personal appearance are superior to all others. 
Their population is on the increase and is continually sending 
forth emmigrants to people districts once the homes of other 
races. They inhabit the greater part of the State of Oaxaca 
and number somewhere between seven hundred thousand and 
a million souls. 

The Zapotec is a fine fellow physically ; short, as a rule, 
but full-breasted and powerfully built. One seldom sees a 
spare-built man among them. He has a broad back and he 
needs it, for the burden he has to bear is far from light. It has 
been the custom of writers making the tour of southern Mex- 
ico to belittle the male Zapotec. Several things have concurred 
to deny him his due. The features of the male Zapotec are 
generally plain, his costume has little of the picturesque, and 
the traveler being himself of the male sex has given him but 
scant attention. 




p^ 



THE INDIAN PEOPLES 121 

Owing to the insecure nature of the country the agricul- 
tural population tends to concentrate in the villages and towns 
where some measure of protection is afforded. This results 
in a special division of labor between the sexes. The women, 
residing continually in the town, are the merchants. Such 
a thing as a man selling goods at retail is practically unknown. 
Women are the traders, while the men largely spend their 
lives on their outlying ranches, caring for their stock, burning 
lime, charcoal, etc., fishing and hunting, or tilling their little 
holdings of corn or cane. I may add that the number of hunt- 
ers is few, for the Indians have little natural fondness for 
hunting although the country abounds in game. This is not to 
be wondered at, for they had passed from the hunter state and 
had become an agricultural race long before the daM^^n of 
history. 

In the daytime the absence of men is very noticeable in 
the towns. This is the parent of two errors: first, that the 
females far outnumber the males and, second, that the women 
are the industrious part of the community and the men mere 
drones. 

Writers have made no mistake in picturing the Zapotec 
woman as the most attractive representative of her race, a 
statement to the truth of which the many illustrations scatter- 
ed through this work bear witness. Varying in color from gold- 
en to rich brown, with well-rounded limbs and deep bosom, her 
features possess none of that harshness which we usually 
associate with Indian blood. 

Venus is here revealed in the flesh. Here alone among 
the living daughters of Eve will you find the straight project- 
ing breasts of classic Greece. The Zapotec maid needs no cor- 
sets. Her breasts stand erect not merely as a budding maid 
but well on until the age of thirty or thirty-five, and it is no 



122 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

uncommon thing to come upon a mother of three or four chil- 
dren whose breasts project like those of a young girl. This 
plainly indicates great vigor in the race. 

With her open face and ready laugh the Tehuana is the 
reverse of Oriental ; she is most decidedly of the Occident. But, 
aside from this, surface indications are to the contrary; and 
beholding these gaudily dressed creatures moving upon the 
streets, each with a tray or jar balanced on her head, I saw as 
through a mist the Persian marts of my youth. The Tehuanas 
persist in carrying everything on their heads, even in the most 
violent winds. Sometimes they are compelled to navigate 
pretty slowly, but they never under any circumstances permit 
their burden to fall. It is no uncommon sight to see a woman 
pass, balancing a squash on her head. Their dexterity in this 
matter is the result of long experience. I have often seen a 
little girl of ten or twelve years walking along quite uncon- 
cernedly, balancing an empty beer bottle on her head. She 
was taking her first lesson in the art. 

The Tehuanas are very strong and walk off with a stride, 
even in the hottest weather. After the manner of Norwegian 
peasant women they are much given to trotting when in a 
hurry. 

Mexico presents a great object lesson to the student of 
race absorption. Here you find every stage in the process; 
the wild Indian, the Christianized Indian who still preserves 
his mother tongue and the costume of his ancestors, and the 
Spanish-speaking Indian who has assumed the costume of the 
white man. 

The Zapotecs were long since converted to the Christian 
faith, whether for the better or not is an open question; but 
they still preserve their own language. It is estimated that 
the Zapotecan tongue is spoken by at least 500,000 souls. True, 




Senor Bigote, the Renowned Gringo 

Viajero, Dressed to Ascend to 

the Crater of Popocatepetl 



THE INDIAN PEOPLES 123 

Spanish is spoken in the larger towns of Zapoteca. It is the 
language of communication with the white; the language of 
law, religion, and public affairs; of the schools, such as there 
are. But even in the towns you hear the aboriginal tongue 
on every hand, and in the villages it alone is spoken. Indeed, 
I do not exaggerate in saying that outside the cities of Te- 
huantepec, Juchitan, Salina Cruz, and San Geronimo but little 
Spanish is heard upon the Pacific plains of the Isthmus. Even 
in such large towns as Iztaltepec it is but little used. This 
fact was forcibly impressed upon me by an incident which 
occurred late in the fall of 1918. 

It so befell that upon a certain Sunday Mr. James 
Cowan and myself found ourselves at San Geronimo. Just a 
word about Cowan before I go any further. This Cowan — 
he was locally known as Sehor Bigote (Mr. Mustache) — was 
quite a character. I suppose there was no better known Gringo 
in all southern Mexico. For many years he had traveled up 
and down the country in the interests of first one firm and 
then another, and at the time when I first met him was selling 
enameled ware for some American house. He was a most 
unique individual. In the first place he was a one-armed man, 
though of course that was not his fault. He was a large man 
and sported an immense mustache, immense even for one of 
his size ; and he waxed the ends of the said mustache and drew 
them out to pencil points which projected a good four inches 
from his cheeks. And in addition to this he always wore a 
great broad-brimmed hat the crown of which was carefully 
brought to a peak. Altogether, he was a sight not soon for- 
gotten. 

Well, as I was saying, that Sunday Senor Bigote and I 
found ourselves at San Geronimo. We were considering a 
trip to Iztaltepec and with that object in view hunted up 



124 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Adamik and Melby. Adamik was "conforme," as the Mex- 
icans say; that is, he was willing to go. But Melby could not 
go; he was ex officio funeral director of the New Town, it 
seemed, and had a funeral on hand. However, he very oblig- 
ingly lent us a covered rig for the trip. So, after we had seen 
him off on his mission, we entered the rig and set out for 
Iztaltepec. 

It was a drive of six miles through practically uninhabited 
country, and of course there was the ever-present possibility 
of being waylaid by bandits; but we assumed the risk. How 
easily one becomes accustomed to taking chances in such mat- 
ters! Adamik occupied the front seat as driver, pushing the 
sturdy mules forward at a good pace, while my young friend 
Seiior Bigote and myself occupied the rear. A mile out from 
San Geronimo we turned the flank of Dani Guiati and whirled 
out onto the arid plain. Less than an hour later we entered 
the outskirts of Iztaltepec. 

The outskirts of an Indian city are seldom prepossessing 
and those of Iztaltepec were no exception to the rule. They 
differed from those of most Indian towns, however, in one 
respect; everything was laid out on the checkerboard plan. 
Iztaltepec must have been a place of some size — I should say 
it had a population of four or five thousand — and the suburbs 
were extensive. For well on towards a mile we rode past 
street after street, each flanked by two rows of Indian houses, 
practically all of them wattle shacks plastered over with red 
clay. They were the homes of the poor, without windows and 
probably without floors ; nor was there a tree in sight nor a 
shrub of any description. I can not imagine more desolate 
places in which to dwell, and yet such are the homes — if homes 
they can be called — of nine-tenths of the Indians of Mexico. 



THE INDIAN PEOPLES 125 

What can be expected of children raised under such condi- 
tions? The crying need of southern Mexico is not so much 
legal reforms as social workers to teach the poor how to live. 

Toward the municipal center the place took on a more 
prosperous air, many of the buildings comparing favorably 
with those occupied by the middle classes of Tehuantepec and 
Juchitan. There was a small plaza, upon the further side of 
which was a church of the usual Spanish type, while upon the 
near side a building with some architectural pretensions 
was in course of erection. 

Of course there was a market. We could see to our right 
the corner of that indispensable adjunct to every Isthmean 
town, and so we alighted from the rig and proceeded in that 
direction. We were short of cigars, at least that was the ex- 
cuse we made to one another, but our real object was to inspect 
such Tehuanas as might be there. As luck would have it we 
struck the market at the wrong hour; there were only a few 
Tehuanas present and only one of these was passing fair. 

I remember her well. She was clad in an embroidered 
dress of rich wine-colored material and wore a golden neck 
chain and gold rings upon her fingers. She was decidedly at- 
tractive and I immediately set out to perform the part of a 
Mexican gallant by pinching her in the nape of the neck ; but 
despite all my efforts she successfully eluded me, smiling good- 
naturedly all the time, however, and chattering with Adamik 
about her goods. At last, noting that my younger companion, 
Senor Bigote, was becoming greatly exercised at my conduct, 
I was constrained to desist. Allah f orf end ! I but did this to 
initiate my brother into the ways of the Isthmus. 

We returned to the municipal building and sought audi- 
ence of the presidente. Having come all the way to Iztaltepec, 
we would see its celebrated pottery works before going back 



126 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

to San Geronimo. Could he tell us where they were located? 
The presidente said we would find them somewhere in the 
northeastern outskirts of the town, but was not certain as to 
their exact location. It would be necessary, he said, for us to 
inquire as we proceeded. So we entered our rig and took the 
back track toward San Geronimo, stopping from time to time 
to make inquiries. 

Now for the first time we realized to what limited extent 
Spanish was spoken at Iztaltepec. In nearly every instance 
those accosted made answer in Zapotecan. This would have 
been no great matter for wonder had they been women or chil- 
dren ; but, as I remember, we addressed only grown men, and 
not one of them answered in Spanish. The location of the 
pottery works under such conditions thus became a matter of 
no little diff'iculty, but, what with a liberal use of sign lan- 
guage and much gesticulating and pointing about, we were 
finally made to understand, and in the end actually found our- 
selves alongside the potter's home. After we had hallooed 
three or four times the potter came forth. He was a full-blood 
Zapotec. 

He led us to the pottery. Housed in a most disreputable 
shack, the exterior was no index to what was contained there- 
in. The potter was evidently no mean craftsman; the place 
was filled with the products of his genius, plain pottery, vases, 
and statuary wrought in clay. Many of the patterns were of 
exquisite design. I have seen samples of the ancient art of the 
Zapotecs, but there was here no evidence of the aboriginal; 
every line was classic and it was evident that the workman 
had been thoroughly instructed in the craft by some Spanish 
master. 

All this pottery was made of a fine blue clay. The potter 
informed us that an unlimited supply of this clay was obtain- 
able in the immediate vicinity. 



THE INDIAN PEOPLES 127 

Once more entering our rig, Adamik whipped up the mules 
and an hour and a half later we pulled up before the great gate 
of the Compania Comercial at San Geronimo. The affable 
Melby, having successfully concluded for the day his duties 
as funeral director, was there to meet us. That same evening 
Senor Bigote and I returned to Salina Cruz. 



The Zapotecan seems to be in process of dissolution. It 
is the language of the lower class, of the Indian, and the Span- 
ish-speaking element ever speak of it with a species of con- 
tempt which it is far from deserving. The cultivated Mexican 
will tell you that it has no grammar and is only a "dialect," 
and makes a point of never calling it a language. It is true 
that it has none of the needless grammatical complexities of 
the Castilian, but that is rather in its favor. It possesses its 
own simple grammar and, though not as sweet as the Spanish, 
strikes not unpleasantly upon the ear. 

I am told that under the Diaz regime the printing of 
books in the Indian tongues was forbidded, and though now a 
more liberal rule prevails the study of the native tongues is 
still discouraged. It is unfortunate that this is the case. 
Equally among Anglo-Americans and Latin-Americans the 
policy has been to educate the Indian in the European tongue, 
and instruction in the native dialect has generally been for- 
bidden; a false policy, since it has inevitably shut the older 
portion of the Indian community out from the benefits of civil- 
ization. If instruction were given in the Indian dialect it 
would penetrate the entire community to a greater or less 
extent, and on the other hand, since the native dialect is with- 
out a literature, it would never rise to the rank of a rival. 

An old professor residing at San Bias has published a 



128 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Zapotecan grammar and translated portions of the Bible into 
the vernacular. 

During many months of association with these Indians 
I never met so much as one who possessed a Zapotecan name. 
There were no Cosijoezas, Cosijopiis, Donajis, or Pinopaas, 
while on the other hand there was no end of Franciscos, Man- 
uels, Joses, Marias, Rosas, and Lucias, and Dons and Donas 
were as common among the Indians as among the families of 
white blood. This condition of things has arisen, as we shall 
see later on, from the practice of the early Spanish priests, 
who in baptizing were always careful to endow each neophyte 
not only with a Spanish surname but also with a suitable 
Christian name. Without desiring to reflect upon the good 
intentions of those early fathers, it seems a pity that such 
native names as Zaachila, Pinopaa, Naatipa, and Donaji, as- 
sociated as they ever must be with the past grandeur of the 
race, should have utterly passed from use. 

This seems a convenient place to correct certain mis- 
apprehensions which have arisen as to the use of names and 
titles among Spanish-speaking people generally. There seems 
to be a prevalent impression that the title "Don" is indicative 
of nobility. Nothing is further from the fact; "hidalgo" is 
the term applied to a member of the lower nobility of Spain, 
while "Don" is similar to the English "Sir" and "Seiior" is 
equivalent to the English "Mr.." The title "Don" is always 
used with the Christian name ; for instance, Eduardo Guzman 
may be addressed either as Sehor Guzman or as Don Eduardo. 
"Don" and its feminine "Dona" are applied indiscriminately in 
Spanish-speaking countries to all adults above the servant 
class; differing in this respect from their English equivalents 
"Sir" and "Lady," which are confined to the few. 

From reading English novels dealing with Latin life one 



THE INDIAN PEOPLES 129 

gets the impression that the girls are all named Dolores, Mer- 
cedes, or Bonita. As a matter of fact, in southern Mexico at 
least, these names are by no means common. Rosa, Clara, 
Lucia, Maria, and Juanita are in much more general use. 
Guadalupe, the name of the patron saint of Mexico, is also 
popular. 

The Zapotecs of the mountains and those of the Pacific 
plain speak slightly varying dialects and wear a different 
dress. Those of the mountains preserve the costume of their 
ancestors. The dress of the women consists of a short huipil 
or sleeveless jacket, the refajo (a short wrapper descending 
slightly below the knees and confined at the waist by a many 
colored scarf), and a cloth wound about the head something- 
after the fashion of a turban. This dress, more or less orna- 
mented with bead-work or embroidery, is purely Indian. 

The Zapotecs of the Pacific plains (the Tehuanos, as they 
are generally, but loosely, called), while not adopting Euro- 
pean dress, have departed widely from the dress of their fore- 
fathers. The men are clad in white shirt-coats and pants of 
lightest cotton, the shirt being worn outside the pantaloons for 
greater comfort. On gala occasions silk* is frequently substi- 
tuted for cotton by the young gallants. 

The only striking feature of the male attire is the hat or 
sombrero. The festal hat is a great affair. It differs from the 
steeple-crowned hat of the more northern parts of Mexico, 
being lower and broader. All these hats are of exactly the 
same shape, differing only in color; and there are only three 
colors worn, gray, brick red, and purple. 

Like all Mexican hats these have immense brims, which 
are turned up sharply so that the brim forms a most convenient 
receptacle for all manner of things. The Indian generally 

*Silk is raised by the Indians of Santa Maria Guiniagata and sold to 
the people of the plain. 



130 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

carries his cigarettes and matches in his hat brim. On being 
overtaken by a sudden shower the workman strips, and wrap- 
ping up his pants and shirt into as compact a bundle as pos- 
sible, pushes it up into the crown of his hat, claps his hat on 
his head, and goes about his business. 

With the Tehuana the ancient costume has undergone a 
wonderful transformation. Her upper garment is the huipil,* 
a sleeveless garment unconfined at the waist. This is most 
commonly of brilliant red sprinkled with polka dots of white, 
and with a gorgeous border of yellow needlework. She has 
discarded the simple wrapper and adopted the skirt; not the 
European skirt, however, but apparently one of her own de- 
vising. The skirt is very full and ends in a wide flounce, in- 
variably white. The latter is merely basted onto the skirt, 
so that it may be detached and laundered weekly. I was told 
that this skirt is derived from the Andalusian skirt introduced 
long ago.** 

Like her white sister the Tehuana covers her head with 
the reboso or manta. Both sexes go barefooted about town, 
though the male Indian generally wears sandals when in the 
country. The Tehuana cannot be prevailed upon to wear 
shoes under any circumstances. Their feet are of good size 
and from constantly walking in the sand the toes are spread 

*The huipil is not worn at weddings. The bride wears instead a 
peculiar waist with wide ruff about the neck, and trimmed at the bottom 
with lace of old gold. The women of Jalapa, up the river from Tehuan- 
tepec, do not wear the huipil at all, but wear a loose waist resembling 
the upper portion of a lace night-shirt. 

**So I was told by Lie. M. Garfia Salinas. Surgeon John C. Spear, 
a member of the Shufeldt expedition, states that when they visited Te- 
huantepec (in 1871) the women of that place wore, "instead of the plain 
white skirt (worn by the mountaineers), one composed of strips of va- 
rious-colored cloth, with the strips so arranged as to encircle the body, 
which makes a very gay and pleasing costume." While it seems that we 
have here the source of that wondrous creation, the Tehuana skirt, it is 
equally evident that it was but the crude beginning. 



THE INDIAN PEOPLES 131 

wide apart. But this does not embarrass them in the least, 
for these gentle creatures are not inclined to be silly. 

The boys of the lower class go entirely naked until six 
or eight years of age, and run about the streets in utter inno- 
cence; but the little girls, however young, are generally clad 
as modestly as their mothers. Their dress is an exact minia- 
ture of that of the grown-up Tehuanas, huipil and skirt, white 
flounce and all. 

The Zapotecs are far and away the best Indians in Mex- 
ico. They alone never bowed to the lordly Aztec or Mexican;* 
from Oaxaca sprang Mexico's two leading statesmen, Benito 
Juarez, a full-blooded Zapotec, and Porfirio Diaz, of the same 
race by his mother's side ; and even today the Sons of Zaachila 
are accounted the bravest of the civilized races. Juchitan 
in particular is renowned for the valor of her sons, with whom 
the military service has for generations been a profession. 

But this statement may be easily misunderstood. The 
Zapotec and the North American Indian of the western plains 
are as different as light and darkness. The latter is savage, 
taciturn, and sullen; the former is joyous and happy. The 
women in particular are forever smiling and laughing. In 
fact, the Tehuano has few of the characteristics which we gen- 
erally ascribe to the Indian. It is seldom that one sees him 
frown. His face is open and he looks you full in the eye. He 
loves a jolly time and nothing pleases him better than a hearty 
slap on the back, though it be administered by a total stranger. 

The children have none of the proverbial stoacism of the 
Indian child, but laugh and cry precisely like white children. 
At school the children are full of life and when recess-time 
comes pandemonium is let loose precisely as in Europe. We 

*These Indians do not call themselves Mexicans. To this day the 
term Mexican is applied by them, as it was of old, to the Aztecan races 
which inhabit the central plateau and the State of Vera Cruz. Constant 

applications of this usage occur in the historical chapters which follow. 



132 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

may add that the Zapotec baby is a prodigious bawler who can 
easily out howl his Irish cousin. 

It is a pleasure to live among these people, for they are 
uniformly honest. Thievery is practically unknown. Cen- 
turies of evil example have failed to corrupt the simple Indian. 
During a year's residence at the Hotel Salina Cruz, with serv- 
ants changing continually, I never lost a single article, and my 
bedroom door was never locked. On several occasions I left 
small coins on my dressing table to try the Indian's honesty, 
and in no case was as much as a cent purloined. On every hand, 
from Mexican and foreigner alike, one heard the unanimous 
and true verdict : "These Indians are honest." 

Intemperance is the vice of the male Zapotec; a thing 
not to be wondered at, since the prohibition movement has 
not reached southern Mexico. Drinking is wellnigh universal 
among the white Mexicans and foreigners of that region. Both 
men and women drink and drunkenness is hardly considered a 
disgrace; and it is not surprising that the Indian has not 
advanced beyond the example set by his superiors. 

Every Indian town is abundantly supplied with grog- 
eries (cantinas) where the fiery liquors of the country, tequila, 
mescal, and aguardiente, may be had for a pittance; and at 
all fiestas (and fiestas are numerous) a large percent of the 
male population become intoxicated, and the streets are full 
of reeling Indians. The Indian women do not drink as a rule. 

Their standards of sexual morality are not what they 
might be. It is traditional that virtue hath her abode in the 
regions of sleet and ice and that the tropic sun breeds immoral- 
ity, and a poor reason is better than none ; but the true expla- 
nation lies elsewhere. When the conquistadors (for the 
most part military adventurers of the worst sort) entered the 
land, they set upon a course of unbridled profligacy with the 



THE INDIAN PEOPLES 133 

daughters of the soil ; and their evil example has descended to 
modern times. Bachelors frequently keep house and the cus- 
tom exists of keeping a Tehuana. The marriage rite is not con- 
sidered essential and many Indian maidens regard a "Left- 
handed" arrangement with a white man as eminently proper. 

But among the Indians themselves the standard is higher 
and concubinage is not common. Prostitution is almost un- 
known ; though in some places there are institutions known as 
banos dobles (double baths) which have given the Indians 
an evil reputation, not deserved, for the girls connected with 
these institutions generally come from afar and a girl of the 
town who is seen in their vicinity is shunned by Indian society. 

But while the Zapotecs are on the whole a moral race, they 
are not prudish. They are much given to bathing and at Te- 
huantepec crowds of the lower classes may be seen at almost 
any time of the day disporting in the waters of the river. 
Bathing suits are conspicuous by their absence. The ladies 
have a way of wiggling out of their clothes (save the chimese) 
and into them again without exposing overmuch of their per- 
sons ; but the way the males strip to the skin and frolic about 
would shock any good Moslem. In watching these males I 
noted that in most cases their skin was neither yellow nor 
brown, but of a deep brick-red color, and for the first time 
realized that the term Red Man, sometimes applied to the 
American Indian, was not a misnomer. 

Very often, rather than go to the river they bathe in the 
irrigation ditches adjoining their homes. On one occasion as 
Clarence Harvey and myself were passing through an irrigat- 
ed district we came upon a shapely Tehuana in the midst of 
her ablutions. She had turned her back ere my companion 
called my attention to the situation, and there she sat, waiting 
quite unconcernedly for us to depart; and why not, since she 



134 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

had her back turned to u:;. And yet had this occurred in Persia 
and had the matter been discovered, we had doubtless all three 
been put to the sword. But there is no accounting for differ- 
ences in customs. 

In passing through the market place the men are accus- 
tomed to lay their hands caressingly upon the women's shoul- 
ders and even pat their cheeks, and this conduct is not ordi- 
narily resented but answered with smiles. Many Tehuanas 
regard it as a compliment to be chucked under the chin, and 
that even by a stranger. But the curse of Allah be upon such 
as imagine iniquity, for there is no guile in these women's 
hearts and those who presume too much upon their simplicity 
are sure to meet with a rebuff. In the tender-hearted Te- 
huana, however, this is indicated only by a pained expression, 
for these gentle creatures never repel an advance by spitting 
cat like, as do the women of western Europe, nor by scratching 
or slapping the offender's face, as is the custom with their 
sisters of Celtic blood. 

The whites on the Isthmus readily intermarry with the 
Zapotec Indian women. They make excellent wives, being 
very loyal and industrious, and the children of such unions 
are intelligent, energetic, and lovable and are always num- 
bered among the whites. Indeed, it is proper that they should 
be since with the intelligence of the white they combine many 
sterling moral qualities derived with their Indian blood. From 
the moral point of view the Zapotec Indian is in not a few 
respects the superior of many white races. 

Education is at a low ebb on the Isthmus. All the towns 
are provided with public schools, but the salaries of teachers 
are miserably low and the methods of instruction are anti- 
quated. Schooling does not extend beyond the fourth or fifth 
grade. In the remoter villages no provision whatever is made 



THE INDIAN PEOPLES 135 

for the education of the Indian. That noble woman, Dona 
Juana Romero, who was fully alive to the educational needs 
of her people, founded two schools at Tehuantepec, one for 
boys and one for girls, which offer courses covering some six 
or seven years. These are the highest institutions of learning 
on the Isthmus. The youth of the well-to-do are sent away 
to Oaxaca City, Mexico City, or to the United States or France 
to finish their education. 

The Christian religion is universally professed by the Za- 
potecs, among whom not a trace of the ancient heathen reli- 
gion can be found. They appear to regard with horror and 
avoid with superstitious dread all those places containing 
remains of the ancient faith. Singular as it may seem, the 
Indians now-a-days pay more attention to the ceremonies con- 
nected with the Christian faith than the whites who introduced 
it among them. Indeed, as the Indian villages are more remote 
from the centers of European civilization the ordinances of 
the church are more regularly observed, notwithstanding the 
absence of priests. In such remote villages the "ave" and the 
"oracion" are constantly heard, while in the larger cities of 
the land the churches and convents are used for barracks. 

All that the Zapotec needs is a fair chance. He is ignor- 
ant, but he is willing to learn. He is superstitious. He still 
clings to the church. His life has become inextricably bound 
up with its forms and ceremonies ; but for him it has no higher 
meaning. His intellectual and moral standards are not what 
they should be, but through no fault of his. He has made the 
most of his few opportunities. While the missionary societies 
have compassed land and sea for one proselyte, they have 
passed by this poor fellow. They have cast seed on stony 
places, which if sown in this good soil would have brought 
forth a hundred fold. What the Zapotec needs is the gospel 



136 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

of righteousness taught in his own tongue, hospitals, orphan- 
ages, and schools of higher learning. 

The Indians have the right of suffrage and very generally 
exercise it. In their towns the mayor and other officers are 
generally chosen from their own class, and exercise authority 
as government officials and not as tribal chiefs. There are, 
however, a few of the aboriginal laws and customs still in 
existence, such as that of the village or tribe possessing land 
as common property. In their music, songs, and dances they 
have also retained much of the ancient culture. The arts for 
which this race was at one time famous have, on the contrary, 
for the most part perished; the manufacture of pottery and 
certain sorts of dyed fabrics seeming to be the only exceptions. 

Tradition tells us that the Huaves came from South 
America. Prior to the coming of the Zapotecs they occupied 
the whole of the Pacific plains; in fact, Tehuantepec appears 
to have been founded by the Huaves. Their numbers are now 
greatly diminished, and they are limited to four small fishing 
villages situated in the district intervening between the great 
lagoons and the Pacific ocean. They are greatly inferior to 
the Zapotecs in civilization. Fish is their principal article of 
food and fishing their chief occupation. They supply the 
southern portion of the Isthmus with salt fish, which they 
carry on their backs in huge baskets for many miles from 
town to town in search of customers. 

The ignorance and simplicity of this people is well illus- 
trated by the following story. It seems that at the time when 
the French fleet which accompanied Maximilian was lying off 
the coast of Mexico, the president of the republic sent to each 
town a request for contributions of money, at the same time 
directing that the people do their utmost to repel the invader. 



THE INDIAN PEOPLES 137 

The Huaves in response sent thirty pesos and a message stat- 
ing that, should the fleet appear off their coast, they would 
immediately go forth in their canoes and attack it. 

All the towns of the Huaves are named after saints, and 
they are accounted Christians, and yet I was told that in case 
of sickness they still made pilgrimages to Monapoxtiac to 
propitiate the ancient gods. 

The two divisions of the Choque-Mixe race people the 
mountains on the opposite sides of the pass, the Choques or 
Chimalapas occupying the tov^ms of San Miquel and Santa 
Maria Chimalapa, and the Mixes dwelling in and about San 
Juan Guichicovi. They are rather darker than the Zapotecs 
of the plains, although the true color of their skin is often 
greatly obscured by the "pinta" a leprous skin-disease quite 
prevalent among them. 

The pinta affects a large percentage of the mountain 
population, practically all of whom are Indians, as well as 
several places on the Pacific side near the foot of the moun- 
tains. In fact, I met with several cases of pinta in Tehuan- 
tepec. White or blue spots, often the size of a silver dollar, 
appear on the face, hands, and body, and sometimes an indi- 
vidual is met with whose face or hands are completely changed 
from their natural color. The affected parts are neither 
swollen nor painful, and the fingers and toes do not drop off, 
as in the West Indian leprosy. It does not incapacitate anyone 
for labor nor is it ever fatal. In order to contract it, it seems 
necessary to live in very close relations with the affected per- 
son, and Europeans have seldom been known to contract the 
disease. 

On the Atlantic plains of the northern portion of the 
Isthmus dwell the Aztecs or Mexican Indians proper, who 



138 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

speak the Nahuatl or ancient language of the Central Plateau. 
They are nearly equal to the Zapotecs in personal appearance, 
but are neither as intelligent and vivacious nor as warlike 
as the Sons of Zaachila. As the region which they inhabit is 
beyond the scope of this book we shall not consider them 
further. 



Chapter IX. 
TRANSPORTATION AND BANDITS 

THE transportation facilities of southern Mexico are 
poor. There are but two railroads (both standard 
guage, however), in all this region; the Tehuante- 
pec National Railway, across the Isthmus from Puerto Mexico 
(Coatzacoalcos) on the Gulf to Salina Cruz on the Pacific, a 
distance of 189 miles, and the Pan-American Railroad, which 
connects with the Tehuantepec line at San Geronimo (30 miles 
from Salina Cruz) and proceeds thence along the Pacific 
littoral to Mariscal on the Guatemalan border, some 285 miles. 
Daily trains departed from each terminus of these lines, 
leaving early in the morning so as to reach the other terminus 
by evening. Owing to the prevalent state of insecurity no 
trains were run at night, and indeed there was no demand for 
night trains, the day trains being sufficient to handle all 
traffic. 

In fact, the lines of communication were kept open mainly 
for military considerations. Each train was a moving fortress. 
It ordinarily consists of not more than a dozen cars, two at 
least of which are armored cars filled with soldiers. On the 
Tehuantepec and Pan-American lines the trains have seldom 
been attacked, and indeed there was practically no danger 
in traveling by train on the Pacific plains, it being said that 
the rebels in that section were indisposed to attack because 
they did not wish to interfere with their own people, of which 
the passengers mainly consisted. Others claimed, and with 
greater appearance of reason, that this comparative immunity 

139 



140 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

from attack was the result of settled policy on the part of the 
rebels or brigands, who had learned that the destruction of a 
train meant an immediate concentration of government troops 
and several weeks hard hiking for the rebels. 

On one occasion it so happened that I was aboard train 
making my usual Sunday trip to Tehuantepec. The car was 
fairly well filled. Don Carlos Parkins and Gonzales Soto, man- 
ager of the Santa Cruz sugar plantation six miles west from 
San Geronimo, were with me while a number of Mexican ladies 
and two or three men occupied the seats in front of us. • Our 
train passed through the defile north of Salina Cruz and sped 
out across the plain, but we had barely passed the siding at 
Pierson, two or three miles beyond, when the sound of shots 
ahead greeted our ears. 

Hastily raising the windows, we perceived smoke belching 
from the armored car in front of us. Whether or not the train 
had actually been fired upon by rebels in the timber adjoining 
the right of way we never learned, but at any rate the soldiers 
appeared to think an attack was contemplated and so evidently 
thought the engineer, for the train sped on faster than ever 
and the military kept up a steady f usilade. 

It was interesting to note the effect upon the occupants of 
the car. We three managed to keep our seats though Soto, 
who sat in front of Don Carlos and myself, turned green with 
fear. Even Don Carlos I thought a trifle nervous though he 
summoned a forced smile as he met my, to him, inscrutable 
oriental gaze. But the effect on our fellow passengers was 
more marked. The ladies glanced hurriedly about and then 
one after another slid down between the seats and crouched 
low. Garfia Salina's sister, who occupied the second seat 
directly in front of us, followed the example thus set, but not 
until she had cast a deprecating smile in my direction. I read 




A Sugar Plantation Railroad, a Substantial Affair 




TRANSPORTATION AND BANDITS 141 

that smile. Woman though she was she dreaded our ridicule 
almost as greatly as she feared the enemy without. 

Another passenger, a little man, was troubled with no 
such misgivings. He boldly took counsel of fear and, first 
stripping off his coat and spreading it on the floor of the car, 
laid down at full length between the seats. As I watched him 
I heard in my ear the sage voice of Don Carlos. 

"That fellow adopts the proper course. When you lay 
stretched out that way you run the minimum of risk; least 
surface exposed to a ball, you see. He's evidently been through 
this sort of thing before and is well up in the business." 

Another item, son of Abdullah, in the science of revolu- 
tions. Enter it in thy notebook against a possible visit to the 
Isthmus. As for the writer, my brother, candor compels the 
admission that I felt ill at ease, though vanity prevented me 
from taking any active steps for my safety. 

A few moments later the firing ceased and the passengers 
resumed their seats. If there were any rebels in the timber 
we were now beyond their range. 

Don Lemon Meyer, a young commission merchant who 
was my fellow guest at the Hotel Salina Cruz during the early 
months of 1918, once told me an interesting experience which 
befell him. It so happened that some months before, as he 
was traveling from Puerto Mexico to Salina Cruz, the train 
on which he rode was beset by bandits. The scene of the hold- 
up was a point not far from Puerto Mexico where the railroad 
penetrates a dense forest; the time, just before sunrise. 

Don Lemon was carrying eight hundred pesos in a belt 
about his waist, which, as the money belonged to his employers, 
he felt he could under no circumstances surrender. He deter- 
mined to effect an escape from the train if possible. Throw- 
ing up his window he perceived that the bandits had gathered 



142 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

about the front end of the train, leaving the rear unguarded. 
He sprang up and shouldering his way past his affrighted 
fellow passengers, reached the rear platform and springing off 
disappeared in the bush. 

In the darkness and confusion he managed to work his 
way into the dense jungle and avoid capture. For several 
hours he lay concealed, fearing the bandits might be still lurk- 
ing somewhere about, and then started for the next station 
six miles away. Even then he dared not take to the railroad 
track. Slowly, in constant dread of discovery, he worked his 
way through the jungle, paralleling the railway until he 
reached the station. The adventure meant the loss of two 
meals and hours of exhausting labor, but he had saved his 
money and felt fully recompensed for the hardships through 
which he had passed. 

This leads me to speak of another incident which, while 
it occurred some years earlier and is in no way connected with 
the subject of transportation, throws a vivid light on the law- 
less conditions of those times. When the American troops 
occupied Vera Cruz in the spring of 1914 the position of all 
American residents in Mexico became more or less insecure and 
such as could fled the country. At this time one Don Jeronimo 
Mahoney dwelt at Reforma, the little station situated where 
the Pan American Railway crosses the Ostuta River. 

Now Don Jeronimo was neither a Mexican nor a Sinn 
Feiner, as his name would suggest, but an American ; and when 
he learned of the occupation of Vera Cruz he decided it was 
about time for him to decamp, or, as he expressed it, to "make 
his getaway." He accordingly set out for Salina Cruz, he and 
Mrs. Mahoney and his sister-in-law Ruth, all mounted. To 
avoid discovery they took to by-paths, following the lanes of 
the forest and skirting the north shore of the Upper Lagoon. 



TRANSPORTATION AND BANDITS 143 

They reached and crossed the Rio de Perros below Juchitan 
and then, veering to the southwest, turned the western ex- 
tremity of the great lagoon in the neighborhood of Punta de 
Aguas. Hastening forward and still keeping to the forest 
trails, they struck across country in the direction — as they 
supposed — of the Tehuantepec River crossing; but lost their 
way and fell off to the left, entering the timbered district which 
intervenes betwixt the Tehuantepec and the Tilema Lagoon. 

Soon they heard horsemen approaching and thinking 
themselves pursued left the beaten way and plunged into the 
thicket. They dismounted and turned their horses loose and, 
fearful lest they be followed by their footprints, removed their 
shoes — a fatal mistake, for soon their tender feet were cut to 
the quick by the thorns and brambles of the jungle. Though 
the women were every inch as heroic as the man — and Don 
Jeronimo was fearless to a fault — there is a limit to what 
mortals can endure, and after wandering aimlessly for a little 
while longer they were compelled to surrender at discretion. 

They were taken captive to Juchitan where for a time 
things looked black, but were eventually through the aid of 
native friends set at liberty and permitted to leave the country. 
This, with varying details, is the story of scores of Gringoes 
who fled from Mexico while the revolution was in full flood. 

Adversity could not long deter people of the Mahoney 
stamp. Mrs. Mahoney and her sister were, I believe, the first 
American women to return to southern Mexico after the 
revolution had spent itself, and I had the pleasure of meeting 
them at Salina Cruz in the spring of 1918. A few weeks later 
Don Jeronimo himself appeared upon the scene. 

But it is time we returned to the subject of transportation 
conditions on the Isthmus. At the present time southern 



144 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Mexico is practically isolated from the remainder of the repub- 
lic. There is a line (the Vera Cruz al Istmo) running from 
Vera Cruz to a point of connection with the Tehuantepec 
National at Santa Lucrecia, but this road was practically use- 
less at times because of the lawless condition of the country 
through which it passed. The district was infested by robber 
bands. Trains were frequently stopped, the escort shot to a 
man, women passengers violated, and the cars burned or dyna- 
mited; after which the bandits helped themselves to such of the 
freight as struck their fancy, and carried off the most piomis- 
ing male pasengers to be held for ransom. 

Under such conditions it is hardly to be wondered at that 
the trip was made but once a week or such a matter, when six 
or seven trains proceeded together under a combined escort of 
sufficient size to insure safety. 

I took this route upon the occasion of my first coming to 
Mexico. The trip from Vera Cruz to Salina Cruz (about 300 
miles) consumed three days, with stops for the night at 
Tierra Blanca and Santa Lucrecia. Fortunately I rode with 
the army paymaster and we had an escort of a hundred men. 
Evidently the right of way had not been cleared nor the road- 
bed repaired for years. For a great part of the way we 
plunged through forests, the boughs of the trees sweeping the 
sides of the cars and the train threatening to jump the track 
at every turn. Our enjoyment of the trip was still further 
heightened by the goodly array which greeted our eyes of dead 
bandits hanging from trees and telegraph poles, their weather- 
ed appearance indicating that they had been hanging there 
for a long period of time. 

But I would not have the reader form an unjust opinion 
of this region. In times of peace it is an earthly para- 
dise. Everywhere from Tierra Blanca to Santa Lucrecia, and 



TRANSPORTATION AND BANDITS 145 

even up on the Coatzacoalcos valley to Ubero and beyond, the 
soil was of the deepest black and the vegetation of the bright- 
est green notwithstanding the fact that it was mid-winter 
when I made the trip. Sometimes we passed through tropical 
jungles, but oftener through mile on mile of glorious pasture- 
land, studded here and there with clumps of majestic trees. I 
have never beneath the sun beheld so beautiful a land. Here 
American planters had dwelt in splendor only a few years 
back, many of them having two plantations, one of them in 
the United States where they spent the summer and the other 
in Mexico where they made their winter home — an ideal ar- 
rangement. But four years before they had fled the country 
and ruin had taken possession of the land. 

At Tierra Blanca and Santa Lucrecia where we stopped 
for the night there were only the most miserable excuses for 
hotels, nor were there en route any accommodations whatever 
for securing meals at midday. Having failed to provide our- 
selves with lunch baskets before leaving Vera Cruz, we were 
compelled to satisfy our hunger as best we might from the 
fragrant assortment of Indian delicacies offered by ragged 
urchins at the car windows. Along that route the towns, and 
even the station houses for the most part, had been burned by 
the outlaws, and the country had reverted to nature. 

Finally we made the upper reaches of the Coatzacoalcos, 
surmounted the heights of the divide, and began the descent 
through the cities of the Pacific plain. After the nightmare 
country through which we had passed our relief may be con- 
ceived, as we entered the peaceful cities of the plain and beheld 
the gay Tehuanas come flocking from all sides like great but- 
terflies to the car windows, holding aloft great baskets heaped 
with every description of luscious tropical fruits, and crying 
"Compra, Compra — Buy, buy." 



146 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

The Pan-American, as I have stated, runs from San 
Geronimo to Mariscal on the Guatemalan border. The line 
formerly connected with the Guatemalan railway system, thus 
permitting of through transportation from Vera Cruz to 
Guatemala City; but the railroad bridge at the frontier was 
destroyed and a couple of miles of track torn up on the Guate- 
malan side, thus practically eliminating land traffic between 
Mexico and Guatemala. Goods intended for Guatemala then 
had to be shipped to Salina Cruz, and thence by sea to Cham- 
perico or San Jose. 

Tapachula is the last city of importance on this line as 
one goes toward Guatemala. Daily trains run between San 
Geronimo and Tapachula ; but on the link between Tapachula 
and Mariscal there is but one train a week, on Sunday. A 
branch line 13 miles long has recently been constructed, con- 
necting the important commercial center of Tonala with 
Puerto Arista on the Pacific. This will perhaps in time result 
in the diversion of much traffic from the Chiapas plateau to 
the new port, traffic which now reaches ship's side at Salina 
Cruz. 

Back of Tonala and Jalisco (Ariaga), important towns 
on the Pan American, lies the beautiful plateau of Chiapas. 
Tuxtla Gutierrez, San Cristobal de Las Casas, and Comitan 
are its principal cities. This plateau enjoys an exceptional 
climate* and abounds in natural wealth, but the bordering 
range facing the Pacific is precipitous and the engineering 
difficulties encountered have so far prevented the construction 
of a branch from the Pan American to the cities of the plateau. 
These difficulties are, however, far from insuperable, and 

*In parts the Chiapas plateau is so cool that an inferior sort of rye 
is raised by the natives; which sells readily among the German colonists 
of Soconusco. 



TRANSPORTATION AND BANDITS 147 

within a few years this rich region will be opened up to world 
traffic. 

The Chiapas plateau was then completely isolated. 
Formerly communication was maintained by an automobile 
stage running between Jalisco and Tuxtla Gutierrez ; but this 
had been discontinued and at the time when I was on the Isth- 
mus the sole means of communication was by caravan. Once in 
two weeks a caravan of a hundred or more carts left Jalisco, 
under heavy escort, for Tuxtla Gutierrez. The mountains of 
Chiapas were alive with bandits and on more than one occa- 
sion the escort was dispersed and the caravan plundered. 

Tonala with a population in the neighborhood of 12,000 
is the principal city of southwestern Chiapas. Situated mid- 
way between the semi-arid plains of Tehuantepec and the 
water-soaked Soconuscan littoral, it enjoys a moderate rain- 
fall and with the final completion of the branch railroad to 
Puerto Arista is destined to become a place of commercial 
importance. Speaking of Tonala reminds me of a little inci- 
dent which I can not refrain from recording. 

There lived in this place a gentleman of the most amiable 
parts who possessed extensive property interests eastward 
along the line toward Soconusco. Now it so befell that upon a 
certain day of the days he had occasion to visit his properties. 
Upon his return, and while still seven miles out from Tonala, 
he was beset by a band of outlaws who not only relieved him 
of his ready cash but also compelled him to disrobe, appropriat- 
ing his clothing and leaving him as naked as a newborn babe. 

Whereupon Don Alfredo — for by such appellation was 
he commonly known — set up a most piteous cry, representing 
to the bandits that it would be impossible for him, a man who 
had always gone about well dressed and shod, to make a jour- 
ney of seven miles in his then nude condition. Finally the 



148 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

heart of the bandit chief was melted by his words and he 
ordered that Don Alfredo's undershirt and shoes be returned 
to him, and thus attired the latter made the return trip to 
Tonala. History telleth not by what ruse he succeeded in en- 
tering the city without being seen of the people, but I am 
certain he must have effected the seemingly impossible for 
Don Alfredo was ever a most modest man. 

I trust no one will question my veracity in recording this 
incident. It may seem incredible to one unacquainted with 
local conditions, but happenings such as this were by no means 
uncommon during the Mexican revolution. The success of a 
bandit attack was frequently measured by the extent to which 
it enabled the victors to replenish their wardrobes, and it was 
not uncommon for a band of these gentry to strip all the able- 
bodied males of a village which they might chance to loot. 

In former days there was considerable river traffic on 
the Coatzacoalcos and its principal tributaries. Ocean-going 
ships ascended the river to Minatitlan, and many of the Amer- 
ican plantations situated on its banks possessed steam launches 
by which the produce of the plantations was conveyed to rail- 
road connections at Santa Lucrecia or Minatitlan. At that time 
there was to my knowledge but one launch in use. This belong- 
ed to the Oaxaquena Plantation Company and plied between 
the plantation of that company and Santa Lucrecia. Tank 
steamers still ran between the oil wells of the Pearson interests 
at Tuxpan Bar and its oil refinery at Minatitlan, and small 
boats plied up and down the river daily between Minatitlan 
and Puerto Mexico ; but vessels in the foreign trade no longer 
ascended the river to Minatitlan. Minatitlan is an ancient 
city destined to be eclipsed by the newer and more convenient 
port of Puerto Mexico. While this is true, there will in time 




The Dry Dock at Salina Ciuz. the Largest on the Mexican We.st Coa-t 




Mammoth Electric Cranes on the Wharf Make the Salhia C) uz Harbor Economical 



TRANSPORTATION AND BANDITS 149 

be an extensive river traffic on the Coatzacoalcos as far up as 
Santa Lucrecia and perhaps considerably beyond. 

A word as to the primitive river traffic of the Indians may 
not be amiss. North of the Jumuapa or La Puerta River the 
wagon roads are, on account of the mud and water, but little 
used, canoe navigation there taking their place. These canoes 
are made from a single stick of cedar or mahogany and are of 
all dimensions, from the light traveling-canoe, accommodating 
two passengers, to great freighting-canoes carrying six tons 
of cargo and a half-dozen pasengers. The stern of the freight- 
ing-canoe is roofed over to form accommodations for the pas- 
sengers. The crew is composed of three persons ; a patron or 
captain who, seated in the stem, steers the boat with a huge 
paddle and directs the movements of the others, and two 
palenqueros who push the craft with long poles. Standing in 
the bow the latter plant their poles on the river bed or against 
some object on the banks of the stream, and then propel the 
canoe forward, walking aft until they reach the stern of the 
vessel, when they withdraw their poles, pass again to the bow, 
and repeat the operation. 

When ascending the river the boat is kept within arm's 
length of the bank, and fifteen miles with a heavily loaded 
canoe or thirty miles with a light traveling-canoe is accounted 
a good day's work. In descending the stream, paddles are 
used, the canoe is kept to the center of the stream to take ad- 
vantage of the current, and fifty miles is easily accomplished 
between daylight and set of sun. At night the canoe is securely 
moored and all hands sleep ashore, a precaution rendered 
necessary by the fact that the rivers are infested by alligators. 

On the upper reaches of the rivers, where the stream is 
interrupted by rapids, navigation is effected by means of the 



150 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

balsa, which is constructed of three unhewn logs of palo- 
mulato, an extremely light wood, each about twelve feet in 
length by eight inches in diameter, fastened together by wood- 
en pins. The balsa carries two or three persons and draws 
less than six inches of water. Being very light they are easily 
carried by the Indians on their shoulders at such portages as 
are necessitated by the rapids. 

"The novelty of this mode of travel, the dense over-hang- 
ing tropical vegetation of the river banks, the beautiful creep- 
ers and hanging vines, the monarchs of the jungle covered 
with a profusion of parasites and epiphytes, the long lanes of 
feathery hymbal and green camolote, forming here and there 
trim borders to the river and looking like well-kept hedges, 
the numerous flocks of screaming parrots, the monkeys chat- 
tering in the trees, and the water-fowl, in almost infinite num- 
ber and variety, lining the beaches and wading in the shallow 
waters, all combined to make the ascent of the rivers, as we 
went slowly along, day by day, exceedingly interesting and 
enjoyable.'"^ 

The rivers of the Pacific coast are unnavigable, but there 
is a waterway through the great lagoons which should in time 
form quite a channel of commerce. The four great lagoons of 
the Pacific plain of the Isthmus are connected at their eastern 
extremity with a series of esteros or lagoons which border the 
seacoast almost to Tapachula, a distance of nearly 250 miles. 
Formerly the passages between these lagoons were kept open 
by the government, so as to permit of the passage of boats, but 
this work has been neglected during these latter years and 
some of the passages have become choked up; a condition of 
things which may, however, be easily remedied. When this is 
done the way will be open, if capital can be secured, for the 
establishment of a regular line of steamboats plying between 

*Report of the Shufeldt Expedition, p. 123. 



TRANSPORTATION AND BANDITS 151 

the western end of the Upper Lagoon and some point on the 
Soconuscan shore. 

Such a line would parallel the Pan-American Railroad; 
but this would not prevent the boat line from securing abund- 
ant traffic, for the Pan-American for a great portion of the 
way runs many miles back from the line of lagoons. Only at 
Mapastepec, I believe, would the railroad and boat line ap- 
proach very closely. There is an extensive territory tributary 
to these lagoons and possibilities for the development of fifty 
paying lake ports. 

When we consider that there are no railroads in all this 
extended territory, from the Gulf to the Pacific and from the 
Mountains of Oaxaca to the Guatemalan border, save the two 
we have mentioned, and no branch lines except the lines to 
Tierra Blanca and San Juan Evangelista, the little five-mile 
spur from Carmen on the Tehuantepec railroad to Minatitlan, 
and the branch of the Pan American to Puerto Arista, we can 
form some conception of transportation difficulties on the 
Isthmus. Nor can this country be fully opened up until branch 
lines are constructed to points on the east bank of the Coat- 
zacoalcos, to the cities of the Chiapas plateau, and up the 
great valley of the Tehuantepec river. At present, in the ab- 
sence of suitable transportation facilities all produce intended 
for export must be transported, often over many weary miles 
of rocky mountain trail, by lumbering ox-cart or by pack mule ; 
a condition which absolutely precludes development. 

The wagon roads on the Pacific plains are very good, 
considering that they exist for the most part as nature made 
them. Automobiles would be impossible on these roads, but 
they are passable for the rude two-wheeled carts of the coun- 
try. There is not enough sand in them to render hauling dif- 
ficult, but in the dry season they are very hot and dusty. There 



152 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

are no bridges of any kind for wagon traffic and the streams 
must be forded, but as they are broad and shallow this is 
readily done, except occasionally for a few days in summer 
when they are in flood. The lay of the land the nature of the 
soil are such that excellent highways may be constructed at 
very little expense. 

The postal service of Mexico is well developed and every 
town of any importance has a well equipped post office. All 
letters received are entered on a typewritten list, which is 
posted daily; a peculiar device which has its advantages. A 
regular system of registering letters exists and this service 
gives general satisfaction. Domestic and foreign postal orders 
are sold, but for some reason must be purchased between 10 
a. m. and 12 m., a rule which hardly seems in the public in- 
terest. The republic of Mexico is divided into states, and in 
mailing letters to that country the name of the state as well 
as of the city of destination should always be given. 

The telegraph lines are run as a branch of the federal 
government and are known as the Mexican National Tele- 
graphs. All towns of importance may be reached by telegraph. 
The service leaves much to be desired at the present time, 
largely because of the great number of military messages 
passing over the lines, which of course have the right of way. 
Because of this, one frequently receives a message by wire 
several days subsequent to receipt of the confirmation copy 
by mail. Messages should always be sent in Spanish; other- 
wise they are apt to reach destination in so garbled a condition 
as to be utterly undecipherable. 

The Central and South American Telegraph Company 
with headquarters at 64 Broad St., New York, has offices at 
Mexico City, Vera Cruz, Puerto Mexico, and Salina Cruz. Its 



TRANSPORTATION AND BANDITS 153 

lines from Galveston, Texas, to Pacific coast Central and South 
American ports cross the Isthmus from Puerto Mexico to 
Salina Cruz. There are well-equipped stations at these points 
which give an excellent cable service to all ports of the world. 
This service makes Salina Cruz the best port of call for war- 
ships on the west coast of Mexico. 

None of the cities of southern Mexico are equipped with 
public telephone service. 

It is a saying in the West that no description of a place 
is complete unless its hotels are included. The hotel is the 
caravanserai of the Occident, and especially is this true of 
Mexico. For the Mexican hotel like the caravanserai Is con- 
structed about a court, and does not at all resemble the hotel 
of the United States or northwestern Europe. 

Salina Cruz had three hotels, not to mention the hostelry 
which that prime spirit, Don Pedro Guasti, was just about 
completing at the time of my departure. Now the best of these 
to my way of thinking was the Hotel Salina Cruz ; and here I 
abode while on the Isthmus. It was under the management 
of those all-around goodfellows, Don Pepe and Don Poncho, 
and was conducted in true Mexican style. 

The hotel was constructed about a court or patio upon 
which opened the rooms of the guests. It was the heart of 
the town, for there foregathered travelers from all southern 
Mexico, merchants from far Chiapas, Spaniards from Aca- 
pulco, brightly dressed Tehuanas from the neighboring towns, 
charming Mexican ladies from the plateau, lank Gringos, Chi- 
nese, Syrian, army officers, a motley crew ; and for those who 
loved conviviality there was a cantina to one side with pool 
tables and an abundance of choice liquors just in from San 
Francisco. But as Don Poncho was accustomed to say : "You 



154 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

are in your own house." There was room for all, each to fol- 
low his own bent, and the philosopher might sit under the col- 
lonade which encircled the patio, and undisturbed smoke the 
weed as he pondered upon the scene before, him. 

The conventional "office" of European hotels, with its 
desk and writing tables for the traveling public, is lacking. 
Each guest keeps to his own room, which is his office for the 
time being, and there he does his writing. Of course he carries 
a typewriter with him. The hotel takes no newspapers; people 
are supposed to purchase their own periodicals. Nor is there 
any telephone in the hotel — a great blessing. 

In the bedrooms a rug is placed, not on the floor at the 
side of the bed, but over the counterpane at the foot of the 
bed. A singular custom, but easily explained ; it is to protect 
the counterpane from the guest's boots when he lies down for 
his midday siesta. 

Meals are served three times a day at the usual hours. 
From the foreigner's point of view the bill of fare cannot be de- 
scribed as excellent, but it is the business of one who goes 
to Mexico to conform to Mexican ideas in such matters. Hot, 
highly spiced dishes are the rule. The Mexican has a great 
liking for chili pepper; sometimes in the form of enchiladas 
(hashed meat wrapped up in a corn-meal wafer dipped in 
chili sauce and garnished with grated onion) and again in the 
shape of stuffed chili peppers. Beware of the latter. Upon 
one occasion I had the temerity to eat an entire chili pepper. 
It straightway burned a hole in the lining of my stomach and 
for the next two days I was sick abed. 

But despite the peculiarities of the Mexican menu it is 
wholesome, more wholesome than that of the Yankees who in- 
habit the region to the north; no puddings and pastry to de- 
stroy the digestion, but plenty of meat dishes, corn bread, and 



TRANSPORTATION AND BANDITS 155 

black beans. I should not neglect to state that the Mexican 
must have his black beans. They are the sine qua non without 
which, according to his ideas, a meal cannot be eaten. He 
grows black in the face if they are not on the table. There 
are other beans in Mexico, red beans and white beans, which 
taste much better. Frequently all three sorts are on the table, 
and then he may eat all three for he is a great lover of beans ; 
but in any event Mr. Mexican must have his black beans. 

The national drink at table is coffee, and Mexican coffee 
as it is served is autrocious; but this is evidently from the 
method of preparation, for the Mexican berry has a deservedly 
high reputation in the world's markets. The beverage is 
simply spoiled in the making; but again I warn you, should 
you go to Mexico, make no objections, for the Mexican is fully 
satisfied that coffee as he prepares it is the only coffee fit to 
drink. Chocolate (spiced with cinnamon) is also drunk; but 
tea, never. 

The service obtainable at the average Mexican hotel seems 
nothing short of miraculous when one considers the personnel. 
The hotel is manned, according to size, by from half a dozen 
to a dozen barefoot Indian men (mozos) and as many women. 
The men not only act as doorkeepers, guarding the place against 
a possible attack by bandits and running errands for the man- 
agement, but also act in the capacity of chambermaids. When 
unemployed, and especially during the warmer hours of the 
day, they lay at full length slumbering on the tiled floor of the 
hotel porch ; nor does this attitude disturb anyone in that easy- 
going land. 

The waiters, like the "chambermaids," are of the male 
sex and of all exasperating creatures these Indian waiters 
are the worst. Their only merit is that they expect no tips, 
that accursed European custom never having taken root in 



156 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

that part of the world. But a more brainless individual than 
the average peon waiter it would be hard to find. If sent out 
for a dish he invariably breaks it, or brings you the wrong 
dish, or worst of all, forgets his errand ere he reaches the 
kitchen and returns after fifteen minutes to take your order 
afresh. 

One of his most common sins of omission is that of failing 
to bring the black beans, a delinquency readily forgiven by the 
foreigner who cares little for them, but viewed as a mortal sin 
by the Mexican who loves black beans as the apple of his eye. 
It is actually recorded that once upon a time a Mexican gen- 
tleman grew so enraged at a waiter who neglected to bring 
him his beans that he drew his pistol and shot the offender 
through the hand. At the trial which followed the gentleman 
was acquitted upon the ground that the waiter's conduct was 
an aggravating circumstance calculated to drive any respect- 
able hotel guest to acts of desperation. 

One of the female servants generally supervises the 
"chambermaids" in the performance of their duties. And 
here I take occasion to state that the general run of Mexican 
hotels are unobjectionable from the standpoint of cleanliness. 
The bedrooms are uniformly neat and cleanly and the bed 
linen spotless. Iron bedsteads are in general use and thanks 
to them and the untiring efforts of the personnel that bete 
noire, the bed bug, is little in evidence. The meals are clean 
and appetizing, and best of all the guest need never concern 
himself with keys and the locking of doors, for the people of 
southern Mexico are still in a state so primitive that they do 
not know what it means to steal. There are of course some 
mortals so refined that any hotel not equipped with a buffet, 
uniformed lackeys, and individual baths — in the Mexican hotel 
everyone uses the public shower bath — is to them no hotel at 




Little Tehuanas Accompanied by One of the Lords of Creation-Who Lack. His- Pant 



k 



TRANSPORTATION AND BANDITS 157 

all ; but stich people had best remain at home, they are not born 
to travel in Mexico or any other country. 

What Mexican lady would think of supervising her own 
kitchen? The kitchen is in charge of a Tehuana cook and 
female assistants drawn from the personnel of the house, and 
considering the primitive cooking appliances at their disposal 
some of these Indian women deserve the highest commenda- 
tion for their skill in the culinary art. Iron stoves and steel 
ranges are but little used in Mexico. Three stones arranged 
in a triangular shape to support a pot, griddle, or comal, or 
a crude earthenware stove made on the same lines, suffices 
for the poor, and even the upper classes and most of the hotels 
make shift to get along with simple brick ranges provided with 
pot holes and fire places. Only in a few of the better estab- 
lishments are steel ranges to be found. 

The upper classes consume more or less white bread which 
never, however, appears in the form of loaves, but always 
in the little buns (panes) characteristic of Latin America. 
This bread is seldom baked at home but is obtained from pro- 
fessional bakers who bake their stock in large open-air ovens. 

A meal at a Mexican hotel is flavored with the sauce of 
politeness. When a gentleman seats himself or arises from 
the table he invariably says "Con permiso" (With your per- 
mission), and when the landlord comes to the table he salutes 
the guests with a "con povecho, Seiiores," as much as to say, 
**May you dine with profit, gentlemen." 

If you are making a lengthy stay at a Mexican hotel you 
must not expect your bill at the end of the month. The land- 
lord is in no hurry about such matters; he trusts to your 
honor, and it may be necessary to prompt him several times 
before its production. And you may depend upon it, he will 
not permit you to outdo him in politeness or generosity. The 



158 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Mexican is above all things open-handed and can be depended 
upon to always return a favor. 

Speaking of trusting to one's honor reminds me of a little 
incident which occurred just before I left Salina Cruz, which 
marks the Mexican's high sense of honor and innate delicacy. 
One of the leading merchants of the place handed me four 
hundred dollars in cash and asked me to deliver it at a certain 
address in San Francisco, California. "Ah," I said, "but you 
will wish a receipt for the money." "That does not matter," 
he replied, "it is quite unnecessary." 

Now many would not mark such an incident but I, since 
by the permission of Allah it was my lot to travel in that land, 
have thought it worthy of note. 



Chapter X. 
INDUSTRIES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVESTMENT 

IN the following pages we shall treat of the commerce and 
industries, present and potential, of the Isthmus of Te- 
huantepec. This subject, of special interest to the con- 
stantly increasing numbers of Europeans and Americans who 
are seeking opportunities for investment in Mexico — for which 
reason we have made this our longest chapter^ — may prove of 
minor interest to the general reader, to whom statistics of pro- 
duction and trade are generally more or less distasteful. If 
our reader be of this class we would advise that he omit this 
chapter, turning at once to chapter eleven, wherein is recorded 
the rise of that nobles of all Indian races, the Zapotecs. 

It was the policy of the government of President Porfirio 
Diaz to encourage by liberal concessions the investment of 
foreign capital, a policy which secured hundreds of millions 
of dollars for the development of Mexico's resources. For- 
eigners flocked to the country by the tens of thousands. To the 
Isthmus of Tehuantepec came Americans from the republic to 
the north. The government was most liberal with the new- 
comers and soon the bulk of the land from below Santa Lu- 
crecia on the north to the pass of Chivela on the south passed 
into their possession. 

This land was controlled by companies in the United 
States, each of which had its plantation and a resident man- 
ager on the Isthmus. It was an era of wild speculation in Mex- 
ican stocks. The idea in many eases was, not so much to con- 
duct a legitimate plantation business, as to empty the pockets 

159 



160 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

of the gullible American public of surplus cash. Flamboyant 
prospectuses pictured the fortunes to be made from rubber, 
coffee, sugar, and tropical fruits. Little show plantations of 
a few acres each were set out, with driveways so arranged 
that when prospective buyers arrived they might be driven, to 
all appearance, through miles on miles of growing crops. By 
such and kindred devices thousands of acres of wild jungle 
were sold under colonization schemes, in which the buyers 
reaped nothing but experience and taxes. 

Eventually nearly all of these companies failed and many 
of the investors lost their hard-earned money. New com- 
panies, organized on a more conservative basis, succeeded 
them. Rubber had proven a complete failure on the Coatza- 
coalcos, and coffee was not far behind ; but sugar and bananas 
were a success, and to the culture of these and the extraction 
of forest products the Americans on the Isthmus now settled 
down. 

It was a wonderful region, that Coatzacoalcos Valley, the 
nearest approach to an earthly paradise to be found on the 
continent of North America. As Egypt is the child of the 
Nile, so the valley of the Coatzacoalcos is the child of the great 
river. In one respect, especially, the Coatzacoalcos resembles 
the Nile; overflowing its banks about every seventh year, it 
leaves a deposit on the fields, returning to the soil all elements 
taken by the crops and rendering the use of fertilizer un- 
necessary. 

This river, the greatest in all Mexico, is about one-fourth 
mile wide at the Oaxaquena Plantation, fifteen miles below 
Santa Lucrecia, and at Puerto Mexico, where it enters the 
Gulf of Mexico, a full mile in width. Ocean-going vessels go 
up some forty miles, beyond tide limit, for fresh water. Mina- 
titlan, some thirty miles above Puerto Mexico, is a regular port 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 161 

of call for many ocean vessels; while vessels of 8 to 10 feet 
draft can during nine months of the year ascend as far as 
Santa Lucrecia. 

In the peaceful days immediately before the Revolution, 
American planters occupied the banks of the great river from 
a point some thirty miles below Santa Lucrecia to the river's 
source in the dividing range. From the northern limits of 
the American holdings to the Gulf the country was in the 
hands of the Pierson (British) interests. The Pacific plains 
of the Isthmus, about Tehuantepec and Juchitan, had never 
been invaded to any extent by American enterprise ; but from 
Reforma east to the Guatemalan border, along the entire ex- 
tent of the Chiapas littoral, a fair proportion of the planations 
were American owned. 

Life was exceedingly pleasant in the old days in the Amer- 
ican colony on the Coatzacoalcos and its tributaries. Culti- 
vation was confined to the sections in close proximity to the 
railroad or the river banks, but the land was American owned 
for a distance of from twenty to thirty miles back from the 
river and road on either hand, affording unlimited opportunity 
for colonization and development. Each plantation had a 
commodious plantation house embowered in flowers, its or- 
chard of tropical fruits, its great sugar mill, and its wide acres 
of cane. Its fields were tilled by a busy host of Indian em- 
ployees, while their fellows were bringing mahogany and 
Spanish cedar from the neighboring forests. Down at the 
river was the plantation pier, at whose side were moored huge 
barges which conveyed the plantation's output to market and 
a trim little launch in which the planter and his family visited 
the market as business or pleasure impelled. Such were condi- 
tions when the planters fled the country in 1914. 

Four years later, in 1918, these American plantations 



162 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

presented an appearance of utter desolation; cane mills and 
distilleries in ruins, the machinery rusted beyond redemption, 
the tields burned over or grown up to jungle, the valuable 
timber stolen. In a few instances only, native caretakers con- 
tinued to run the plantation in a small way, securing immunity 
from attack by paying blackmail to the bandit chief of the 
locality. 

In this isolated region, far from the center of authority 
on the plateau, the planter, be he foreigner or Mexican, is in 
times of revolution thrown on his own resources. He may se- 
cure personal immunity by removing to a garrisoned town, but 
this affords him no protection in his property. The bandit 
visits the plantation and demands a monthly contribution of 
the caretaker. The planter may refuse to pay and call upon 
the government for protection. It will avail him nothing. The 
government does what it can to protect him ; a detachment of 
troops is sent to the plantation. There is a skirmish, perhaps, 
and a bandit or two is killed. But this is only adding fuel to the 
flames, for manifestly the government cannot garrison every 
plantation. After two or three weeks the garrison is with- 
drawn for use at some other point, and the bandits immediately 
return and wreak vengeance by burning the plantation build- 
ings and destroying the crops. 

Two factors have accounted for the prevalence of such 
conditions during the last few years; the difficulty of trans- 
portation between central and southern Mexico, and the nature 
of the country, which favors the bandit. As stated elsewhere, 
the Vera Cruz al Isthmo Railroad, the only line of communica- 
tion between the central plateau and the Isthmus, was practi- 
cally out of commission, and the movement of troops from the 
center of the republic consequently requires much time. On the 
other hand the country, sparsely populated and covered for 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 163 

the most part with a scrubby growth of timber, favors the 
outlaw. The cHmate is mild, his horse finds abundant pasture 
for the greater part of the year, and back in the heart of the 
jungle he can make his little clearing and raise his year's sup- 
ply of corn and beans without fear of being molested. Driving 
him to bay is wellnigh out of the question. The woods are in- 
tersected by trails and bypaths running in every direction, and 
tracing a man is about as promising as hunting for the pro- 
verbial needle in a haystack. 

It is safe to say that there were not then five hundred 
foreigners (exclusive of Spaniards) in all southern Mexico. 
I am sure the number of Americans, men, women and children, 
fell far short of a hundred. But the situation is not perma- 
nent. Their property was still there and they will return. 

Mexico will continue to invite the foreigner for several 
reasons. For one thing, it is a land of great undeveloped re-' 
sources, resources which its people lack the capital to exploit. 
It is a country in the raw and, like all such countries, bristles 
with opportunities. Two great needs of Mexico — industrial 
Mexico — are men and capital. Not men to labor, for the 
country abounds in competent laborers, but men with capacity, 
energy, and sufficient executive ability to manage large indus- 
trial enterprises. 

But in Mexico the foreigner has an additional advantage 
in the comparative absence of competition. This arises from 
the Latin character. The Mexican's ideals differ from those of 
the United States or northwestern Europe. He aspires to the 
political, military, or professional walks of life. To be a gov- 
ernment functionary, general, lawyer, physician, poet, artist, 
or author, is the goal of most Mexicans of the upper class. The 
proportion of this class who enter business is small and that 
field is, consequently, largely left to the foreigner. 



164 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Again, the native business man is under a serious handi- 
cap as regards language, most of the foreign trade being with 
the United States, Great Britain, and France. The English- 
speaking foreigner has the advantage, and here it may be 
stated that in Mexico the language is spoken by Americans, 
British, Germans, and Scandinavians alike. These people are, 
on the other hand, often handicapped by inability to speak the 
Spanish vernacular. Resident Frenchmen and Italians almost 
invariably speak Spanish with the fluency of the native, but it 
is no uncommon thing to meet Englishmen and Americans who 
have been in the country for years, and yet can scarcely speak 
a word of the language. 

Spanish is a beautiful and cultured tongue in no way in- 
ferior to English or French, and he who goes expecting to 
make a success in Mexico should divest himself of any feeling 
of race superiority he may have and set about the acquisition 
of the language of the country. The road is comparatively 
easy. The language is not particularly difficult, and no mat- 
ter how many mistakes you make the Mexican will never 
laugh at you ; he is far too well bred for that. The newcomer 
will make the most rapid progress by giving some Mexican 
lessons in English, listening to natives converse together for 
at least an hour daily, himself translating all Spanish corre- 
spondence that comes to the office, and by constantly reading a 
good Spanish paper. This "combined method" is, I believe, the 
only "royal road" to the knowledge of Spanish. By pursuing it 
consistently, and never under any circumstances reading a 
newspaper published in English, the student should by the 
end of a year speak Spanish with fair fluency. 

All important correspondence should be conducted in 
Spanish, as Mexican courts will not admit in proof correspon- 
dence or documents written in any other language. 




o 




op 




pq 



m 



o 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 1(55 

It would not be fair to dismiss this subject without speak- 
ing of the difficulties which the foreign residents must meet. 
The advantages are many; absence of competition, the genial 
and upon the whole healthy climate, and a native population 
affable and refined as far as relates to the upper class, while 
the humbler ranks are gentle and honest to a degree. But 
there are two disadvantages. In the first place, though other- 
wise healthy on the Pacific plains and east at least as far as 
Tonala, it is exceedingly hot for the greater part of the time ; 
while north of the divide in the great valley of the Coatza- 
coalcos the country is more or less malarial. The second draw- 
back is, of course, the absence of schools for ones children. 
Hitherto the foreigner has been under the necessity of making 
frequent trips to the United States to recuperate in health or 
provide for his children's education. But these disadvantages 
will, I am satisfied, be met when any considerable number of 
foreigners return to the Isthmus. A sanitarium is then bound 
to be established, either at the hot springs in the Pass of 
Chivela or upon the higher plateaux. Success may be pre- 
dicted for such an enterprise, which would be patronized not 
only by the entire foreign community but also by many Mex- 
icans, for even they find tYie tropical heat very trying. 

A suitable high school is also sure to come as soon as there 
is sufficient of the foreign element to form a nucleus. Among 
the Mexicans there is a growing desire to acquire a knowledge 
of English, and even today many persons (some of them with 
a very defective knowledge of English) earn a livelihood by 
giving private lessons. A high school with advanced courses 
in both Spanish and English would be well attended and have 
the monopoly of higher education throughout southern Mex- 
ico. Such a school should be located at San Geronimo, Te- 



166 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

huantepec, or Salina Cruz, and would draw custom north as 
far as Puerto Mexico and east to the Guatemalan border. 

Bearing in mind the undeveloped state of the country 
and the general absence of minerals, it is evident that openings 
for foreign investment are in the main limited to agriculture, 
stockraising, lumbering, and manufacture. In certain lines 
the establishment of factories would pay. There is but one 
modern factory in all that region, the brewery at San Ger- 
onimo. Small native industries exist, but none which could 
for a moment compete with a well-equipped modern plant. The 
trouble lies not there, but in securing a market for the product. 
It would be necessary to begin operations on a comparatively 
small scale unless the product is to be exported, for the pur- 
chasing power is not proportionate to the population. The 
Indian consumes but little and the market for most manu- 
factured articles is limited to the upper and middle classes. 

Among industries which would pay I may mention boot 
and shoe, furniture, rope and twine, hat, soap, pottery, broom 
and brush, and sash and door factories, paper, saw, and grist 
mills, brick yards, fruit canneries, tanneries, ice and printing 
plants,* and telephone system^s. The opportunities in some 
of these lines are touched upon in connection with other mat- 
ters and may be found by consulting the index. 

Basketry and pottery making are native arts. Baskets 
of beautiful design are made in nearly all parts of southern 
Mexico by a large class of natives. As a rule their products 
are offered for sale only in the public markets, although some 
are exported by buyers who have agents visiting or residing 

*In 1918 not a single daily newspaper was published in southern 
Mexico (the Isthmus and Chiapas) and only one weekly, a small sheet 
printed at Puerto Mexico. Nor was there a public telephone system in 
any of the cities. Up to date of going- to press 1922 no notice of change in 
this particular has been received. 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 167 

in the towns where basket making is extensively carried on. 
Oaxaca is one of the principal states in the production of pot- 
tery, the Zapotecs possessing great deftness in work of the 
sort. 

I know nothing of which that land stands in greater need 
than banks. There is not a bank, great or small, in all south- 
ern Mexico, except one recently established at Salina Cruz. 
Even paper money has disappeared; only gold and silver are 
in circulation. Everyone having money keeps his own strong 
box or deposits his money with some merchant having a safe. 
The detriment to commerce may be imagined. Not only are 
bank credits out of the question, but the business man must 
cart his coin about with him wherever he goes. In more 
"civilized" countries under such a system safe blowers would 
flourish and train robbers multiply exceedingly, and it speaks 
well for the honesty of the people of that land that safe-blow- 
ing is unknown and that trains are seldom "held-up." But 
there is a crying need for banks, none the less, and a great 
opportunity for those houses which first acquire a foothold in 
Tapachula, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Tonala, San Geronimo, Juchitan, 
Tehuantepec, and the other principal trade centers. 

The region being destitute of banks, the large merchant 
concerns perforce do a general exchange and collection busi- 
ness, acting as agents for New York and San Francisco 
houses. They also receive deposits but rarely pay interest. 
Deposits are not guaranteed. 

United States gold circulates at par, that is, at the rate 
of one dollar for two pesos. Exchange on the United States 
fluctuates. United States silver and paper money do not 
circulate. 

Owing to the present high price of silver and the conse- 
quent disappearance from circulation of the national cur- 
rency, a new silver currency of reduced silver content has been 



168 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

introduced. Silver coins of the denomination of one peso, 
fifty centavos, and twenty centavos are in circulation. The 
composition of these coins is an alloy of 720 parts of silver to 
280 of copper; in fact, the alloy is so great as to give them 
quite a pinkish appearance. They are merely fractional cur- 
rency, the standard being gold. 

Some $515,000,000 of "infalsificable" paper money was 
issued by the Carranza regime, practically all of which has 
been retired. This money is worth but a small fraction of its 
face value, and nearly all of what is out is in the hands of 
speculators. 

The Pacific plains are well suited to stock raising and cat- 
tle in normal times are everywhere numerous ; half starved in 
the dry season, when it is often a mystery how they keep body 
and soul together, but in fairly good condition in the summer 
when grass is plentiful. The best herds are found in the high- 
lands of the divide, especially on the plains of Chivela and 
Tarifa, and along the stripes of land which intervene between 
the lagoons and the sea. A large number of calves are de- 
stroyed by the jaguars and pumas every year. So troublesome 
are these cats that every ranch maintains a hunter and a pack 
of dogs for the express purpose of hunting and killing them. 

There is still abundant range for cattle and opportunity 
for the beginner. Range land may be had for a song. Green 
pasture exists throughout a great part of the year, not only 
on the plains and in the valleys, but often on the mountain 
tops as well. Mountain pastures exist in many places. There 
is a beautiful meadow on the top of a steep mountain a few 
miles to the southwest of San Geronimo, plainly discernable 
to the traveler standing beneath Mr. Adamik's date palm. The 
Cerro Atravesado, away to the northeast of Niltepec, is a 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 169 

curious mountain engrafted on the cordilleras with its greatest 
length at right angles to their general direction. The top 
of this conspicuous cerro is about 5,000 feet above the level of 
the sea, flat, and covered with the richest of pasture. Yes, 
there is every opportunity here for the newcomer. When 
well fed the animals are of good size. Corn fodder is easily 
raised, and by feeding a fair amount for two or three months 
in the year the best results are obtained. 

The total stock on the ranges is now small. The consensus 
of opinion as to the present number of cattle, calves, sheep and 
goats in Mexico places it at about 25 per cent of the stocks 
existing in 1910; and this proportion probably holds for the 
Isthmus country. Not only have great numbers of cattle been 
slaughtered by the revolutionists for hides and meat, but also 
by the owners themselves, in the effort to save them from 
depredations. The number of calves killed has been negligible. 
All calf skins find a ready market locally at as much as 25 per 
cent above New York market quotations. 

All the heavy hauling is done with oxen yoked to great 
lumbering two-wheeled carts. These carts are made entirely 
of wood and do not carry much more than half the load of a 
good lumber wagon. There is great need here for the introduc- 
tion of improved carts and wagons. The oxen are yoked by the 
horns, a most barbarous practice, and driven with the goad. 
Kindness to animals does not seem to be one of the Indian 
virtues. 

The Indians do not salt their beef, but cure it by cutting 
it into long narrow strips like pieces of rope and drying it in 
the sun. Beef prepared in this manner is called "tasajo." 
Since it admits of easy transportation by pack animals it is 
much esteemed by exploring parties, and when thoroughly 
pounded and roasted is quite palatable. 



i 



170 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

It is a saying that Mexico is not a butter country. There 
was no native butter to be had at Salina Cruz during my so- 
journ there, and the imported article cost a dollar gold a pound. 
No one thought of eating butter, and even at the best hotel 
there was no butter on the table. I was told, however, that 
the Indians sometimes make an inferior butter for their own 
use. The Indians are very fond of cheese, which they make 
in immense quantities from goats' milk. There seems to be 
no reason why dairying might not be made a success and the 
country made to produce all the butter and cheese needed 
for its own markets. 

But little condensed milk is imported. An abundance of 
goats' milk is always obtainable, while the supply of cows' 
milk is sufficient for the upper classes. 

Hides form a very important article of export ; not merely 
those of meat cattle but also the hides of goats, which are much 
more numerous. In fact, "No. 1 Oaxaca" is the standard of 
excellence in the goat-skin markets of the world. All hides 
and skins are exported in the raw, for there are no shoe or 
Harness factories in southern Mexico. Tanneries exist in the 
outskirts of many towns but they are little Indian affairs of 
the mo^t p^^imitive description. With the enormous numbers 
of cattle and goats raised, it is evident that the country affords 
an excellent opening for the establishment of modern up-to- 
date tanneries. There is also a demand for boot and shoe fac- 
tories, though the market is limited at present by the fact 
that the Indian goes barefoot or wears sandals only. This con- 
dition will pass away as the status of the Indian is raised and 
the price of footwear lowered by the existence of local fac- 
tories. 

All the shoes worn by the middle and upper classes are 
of American make. On account of the high prices of leather 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 171 

shoes, imported or made locally, there is a growing demand 
for canvas shoes with rubber soles. Both white and colored 
styles are popular, although the latter, such as tan and gray, 
seem to be the best sellers. Leather shoes of only fair quality 
made locally for adults cost about $10 United States currency, 
while imported shoes are much more expensive. 

The lands of the Pacific plain in the immediate vicinity 
of the towns and along the rivers are generally possessed by 
the Indians in small individual holdings, while the high 
grounds further back belong to rich hacendados. The In- 
dians perform all the field labor, both in their own small hold- 
ings and as field laborers on the estates of the wealthy propri- 
etors. The ordinary farm laborer receives a peso (50c) or two 
pesos a day according to the locality, and the common price 
for clearing an acre of woodland is from eight to ten pesos. 

The plains are coverd with a scrubby growth of lignum 
vitae. Brazil-wood, mezquite, rosewood, and cactus, with occa- 
sional clumps of palm. From some vantage point in the Cor- 
dillera the whole plain, from the foot of the dividing range 
to the Pacific, is distinctly visible. Its variegated tropical 
vegetation, with here and there an isolated cerro rising like a 
pyramid from the level plains, and the deep blue sea for a 
background, all combine to render it one of the most fascinat- 
ing of landscapes. And such was the sight which met the eyes 
of the conquering hosts of Cosijoeza when, some four cen- 
turies ago, they scaled the outermost ridges of the mountains 
of Oaxaca and looked down on the scene below. Time has 
wrought but little change; the country still lies awaiting de- 
velopment. 

Once fairly on the plain the sandy trails wind through 
the scrub, and the traveler rides for hours without being able 
to see more than a few rods in advance, encountering neither 



172 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

fence, nor clearing, nor habitation. The plains are arid, hot, 
and sandy, and in many parts almost destitute of vegetation, 
except grass of a poor quality and the Jicara* tree (Crescentia 
cujete). This tree bears a green sessile fruit or gourd about 
six inches in diameter, from which the natives make their 
cups and dippers. When ripe it is strong in the properties of 
ergotin, of the uses of which the Indians, fortunately, are 
ignorant. 

The soil is a light loam, generally of a yellowish or red- 
dish color. From October to June there is no rain and the 
whole country becomes parched and barren. A limited area in 
the neighborhood of the rivers is irrigated, but the water sup- 
ply for this purpose is limited, and indeed, toward the close 
of the rainy season the smaller streams become quite dry. The 
soil is fertile, but the want of rain and sufficient water for 
irrigation, as well as the destructive northers, prevent agri- 
culture on a large scale. 

But these same northers are the key to the situation. 
Turning a thousand windmills they could lift the water from 
the rivers and irrigate nearly all of the 1,400 square miles 
of plain. And they might be used even at points remote from 
streams, for abundance of water is obtainable at moderate 
depths, the water level in the dry season not being greater 
than thirty feet. A few windmills have been introduced, only 
to be overthrown by the northers. What is needed is a low- 
well-braced windmill which the winds cannot overthrow, and 
the problem of irrigating these plains is largely solved. 

Indian corn is the great staple crop, growing in all local- 
ities and at all seasons of the year. The period of growth 
being less than ninety days, it is possible to raise four crops 
yearly on the same ground ; indeed, at Tehuantepec it is said a 

*Also called Totuma, Higuera, Dita and Chima. 




CuttitiR- Sugar Cane Neas Tehua-iicpoc 




Sugar Cane Plantations Offer Bij? Business Possibilities— Young Cane on tlif 

Oaxa(|uena Plantation 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 173 

crop is often grown in less than sixty days. On non-irrigated 
land but two crops are generally grown, the principal crop 
ripening in August. As soon as it is harvested the ground is 
prepared for a second crop, which, coming after the rains 
have ceased, is much inferior to the first, the ears being mere 
nubbins. 

Growing corn under irrigation is a different matter. My 
friend Jerome H. Mahoney of Reforma follows the plan of 
planting one-third of his milpa (corn field) each month, thus 
securing twelve crops of corn per year. It is fortunate that 
this crop can be renewed so often, for very soon after the corn 
ripens it is attacked by the weevil and reduced to powder. 
The Indians smoke the corn to combat this pest, but even this 
does not afford an absolute protection, and in consequence its 
cost in certain seasons is very high. A drying plant, such as 
is used on the Oaxaquena plantation near Santa Lucrecia, is 
essential to enable the planter to preserve his crop unimpaired. 

Here in southern Mexico corn is the staple article of food, 
as rice is with the Oriental and wheat with the European. To 
this fact is doubtless due in great measure the superior phy- 
sique of the Zapotec Indian. In preparing it for food the 
grains are soaked in lime for a few hours to loosen the hard 
exterior shells, which are then removed and the corn placed 
on a flat stone, the metate, and with the aid of a stone roller 
ground to pulp ; after which it is made into thin griddle cakes 
and baked on a comal, a flat disk of unglazed pottery. The 
ordinary cake is called "tortilla;" that baked to a crisp, the 
form preferred by Europeans, "totoposti." 

The day of the metate is passing. Already in the larger 
towns the grain, after being prepared as has been described, is 
ground at public mills run by electric motors. The next step 
will be the introduction of the ordinary grist mill, grinding 



174 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

the dry grain. It is strange, considering the slight expense 
involved in installing grist mills, that they have not been 
introduced before; but this is possibly due to a native prejudice 
against corn meal, though to the European's way of thinking 
bread made from it is much more palatable than the tortilla. 
People seldom go to the ends of the earth to raise beans, 
and yet a person going to Mexico might do worse. The bean 
grows in all parts of the Isthmus and yields abundantly, a 
single pod often yielding as many as twenty beans. Two 
crops can be raised yearly and the market is certain. The 
Mexicans being great bean consumers, the entire crop, if not 
consumed locally, always finds a ready sale in northern Mex- 
ico. Several sorts of beans are raised but the small black 
bean — the common frijole — is the safest crop. It is not only 
a staple article of commerce in Mexico, but when crops are 
abundant is largely shipped to other Latin American countries. 

On the Gulf plains of the Isthmus rice may be grown 
without irrigation and an abundant crop is always certain. 
From 100 to 200 fold is not uncommon, while a voluntary sec- 
ond crop, if cared for, will produce abundantly. Rice is 
planted in Mexico at the beginning of the rainy season and 
is harvested at its close; giving ample time, after the rice has 
been removed, to plant a crop of corn, or to take care of the 
voluntary crop. Mexico will supply a home market for all the 
rice which can be produced for many years to come. Hice is 
not raised on the Pacific side of the Isthmus. 

The northwestern portion of the Isthmus, between Santa 
Lucrecia and Tierra Blanca, along the line of the Vera Cruz 
al Isthmo railway, is largely devoted to the culture of Chili 
peppers. In normal times the crop is large and profitable, and 
quantities of the product are shipped to Mexico City, Toluca, 
and other marketing and canning points. Three red varieties 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 175 

are raised, the ancho (a wide, dried pepper) selling at 2 pesos 
($1) per kilo (2.2 pounds) ; the Pico de Paparo, a small pepper 
selling at 2:25 pesos ($1.13) per kilo; and the Chili Chiltepen, 
also a small red pepper, bringing 5 pesos ($2.50) per kilo. 
Green varieties sell at 1.50 pesos (75c) per kilo. 

Chili peppers are so largely in demand for local consump- 
tion that they are seldom exported. Choice varieties are, in 
fact, imported largely from Spain. 

It is believed there is no country with Mexico's latent 
powers for the production and consumption of sugar, which 
at the same time has so few facilities for the actual refining 
of sugar and its preparation for the market. The normal con- 
sumption of the Republic is 100,000 tons per annum. The 
production fall far below this figure, the deficiency being 
met by the importation of raw sugar from Central America 
(especially Salvador) , Peru, Cuba, and Java. 

Southern Mexico has practically unlimited possibilities 
for the production of sugar. Its tropical climate, a marvel- 
ously productive soil, cheap labor, and protective laws, create 
conditions extremely favorable to the growing of sugar cane 
and the manufacture of sugar. 

Mexico's sugar industry is still in its infancy, only a 
very small proportion of the land available for sugar grow- 
ing being now used. Sugar cane grows in all parts of the 
Isthmus, but the Gulf plains and the lower valley of the Coat- 
zacoalcos are best suited to its cultivation. With practically 
no cultivation the native Mexicans raise from 30 to 35 tons 
of cane per acre, and on well cultivated plantations the yield 
is nearly double that amount. Some of the cane fields of that 
section have produced as long as thirty years without replant- 
ing, though nine years is the rule. On crushing the cane yields 
a juice of density from 9 to 11.5 degrees Baume. 



176 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

There are a few large plants which are prepared to turn 
out large quantities of first-class sugar, and in connection 
with these plants are large acreages of cane in cultivation 
using modern methods in cultivating and harvesting. But in 
many localities the most primitive methods are employed both 
in cultivating the cane and in making sugar. In such instances 
the output is a coarse, brown article known as panela, panocha, 
or piloncillo, put up in small cones. This grade of sugar con- 
tains a high percentage of saccharine matter, but the flavor 
and color are such as to prevent its use in the crude state ex- 
cept by the lower classes. 

It is significant that nowhere in Mexico have the natives 
taken up the cultivation of coffee or rubber to any great extent. 
On the other hand, the official register of sugar in Mexico 
includes the names of over a thousand large sugar plantations, 
and there are innumerable small patches, more than nine- 
tenths of which are owned and operated by native Mexicans, 
On the large properties the native owners are beginning to 
adopt modern methods. 

The evolution of the sugar industry is particularly inter- 
esting to the observer in the tropics. In inland districts the 
native Indian will plant a small patch of sugar cane far up 
on the mountain side; grind it in the old-fashioned wooden 
crusher, with its two upright creaking rollers, driven round 
and round, sometimes by slowly plodding oxen, sometimes by 
the diminutive mule, and again by peon laborers; reduce the 
juice in handmade earthen pans or perhaps in a single kettle ; 
shape it into small cones by permitting the syrup to settle in 
earthen moulds ; and then transport it on muleback many miles 
over the mountains, and sell it at a price satisfactory to him, 
regardless of the labor involved. 

The more wealthy planter, with his acres of sugar cane 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 177 

skirting the banks of some river whose current affords easy 
transportation to market, employs more advanced methods 
for the reduction of juices, but his mills were generally built 
fifty, sixty, or seventy years ago, largely of the open kettle 
and pan-boiling process. 

By one or the other of these crude methods more than 
four-fifths of Mexico's sugar product is obtained. Now comes 
the foreigner; the old appliances are discarded for vacuum 
pans, "triple effects," centrifugal, etc.; steam and electricity 
are replacing the ox and the mule ; and the cost of production 
is reduced in proportion to the increased effectiveness of the 
machinery. But the high prices are retained, because there 
are few modern mills and the demand for sugar increases 
annually. 

The leading sugar industry on the Isthmus is the Oaxa- 
quena plantation (property of the Tabasco Plantation Com- 
pany of Minneapolis, Minn.) located on the Coatzacoalcos 
River fifteen miles below Santa Lucrecia. This property em- 
braces 15,000 acres, a large part of which has been brought 
under cultivation. With its immense refinery, extensive sys- 
tem of plantation railway, river fleet, and army of workers, it 
is a fine illustration of what American enterprise can make of 
this part of the world. A launch plies regularly between Santa 
Lucrecia and the plantation. 

At Oaxaquena and on the Gulf plains generally cane ma- 
tures in 12 months, while in Hiawaii it requires 18 months. 

On the Pacific plains the culture of sugar cane is also quite 
general, though there are but few large plantations. Little 
plantations, each with its own grinding mill (the machinery 
for which is imported from the United States), at which a 
dark brown sugar is made, are scattered up and down the 
rivers. There are but three ingenios (sugar mills) in the 



178 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

district equipped with modern machinery; the Ingenio de 
Santa Teresa at Mixtequilla, three miles from Tehuantepec, the 
Ingenio de Santa Cruz, a few miles west of San Geronimo, and 
that of San Domingo, near Union Hidalgo on the Pan Amer- 
ican Railroad. All these manufacture a pure white sugar of 
the best quality. 

Mexico produces among the best grades of coffee obtain- 
able in the markets of the world, the great bulk coming from 
the southern states of Oaxaca, Vera Cruz, Tabasco, and 
Chiapas. 

Coffee plants are started in nurseries and when from six 
months to a year old are transplanted to the orchard site. After 
the third year a small crop may be harvested; perhaps 300 
pounds per acre the fourth year, increasing to about 500 
pounds the sixth year. 

Large capital is not essential to the industry, and much 
of the coffee is raised in small "fincas" of a few acres each. 
From 500 to 600 trees are planted to the acre and the produc- 
tion per acre runs over 500 pounds as soon as the orchard is 
well established. The usual life of the tree is about forty years, 
but it is in its prime from the sixth to the thirteenth year. The 
greatest danger in connection with coffee planting is a short- 
age of labor in the picking season. 

Very little coffee is raised on the Isthmus. A small 
amount is grown by the Indians among the foothills, both 
about Mogaiie north of the divide and along the upper reaches 
of the Tehuantepec; but the real coffee-growing districts are 
elsewhere. The Soconusco district of Chiapas is the prin- 
cipal coffee producing region of Mexico. On the high hflls 
lying back from Tapachula and the other towns of the lit- 
toral extensive coffee fincas have been laid out by a mixed 
colony of Germans, French, Mexicans, British, and Americans. 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 179 

The coffee ripens in the spring, when it is brought to town 
and transported by rail to Salina Cruz, and thence by ship to 
San Francisco. 

The production of this district is enormous. The annual 
crop of Chiapas approximates 150,000 quintals (33,060,000 
lbs.). The product resembles the coffee of Guatemala in its 
various grades and is easily substituted for it. This is espe- 
cially true of coffee from fincas whose altitude exceeds 3,000 
feet. This Chiapas coffee is known to the trade as "Tapa- 
chula." 

A large amount of coffee is also produced in the district 
west of Salina Cruz about Pochutla. This is loaded aboard 
ship at Puerto Angel. 

Mexican coffee is milder than that of Java, but its flavor 
is not inferior ; that is, when properly prepared. Coffee is the 
national drink, but among Mexicans the custom is to drink 
"milk with coffee" rather than "coffee with milk." And in 
this they show their wisdom, for coffee prepared after the na- 
tive manner is a most villainous concoction and the less one 
takes of it the better. 

The cacao tree is indigenous to Mexico. It has been culti- 
vated by the Indians for many centuries, and from its bean 
they make their chocolatl (chocolate). The cacao requires a 
warm and moist atmosphere, the lands best suited to its cul- 
ture lying between sea level and an altitude of 1,600 feet, in 
localities protected from strong winds. The lower Coatza- 
coalcos valley is well suited to cacao culture. The plant bears 
three or four years after planting, and usually gives three 
crops a year. It reaches its maximum production in the ninth 
or tenth year and after the twenty-third year its yield dimin- 
ishes. Trees are planted about 400 to the acre, the average 
yield of 1,000 trees being 600 pounds. 



180 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

The cultivation of indigo is limited to the Pacific plains, 
in the light soil and dry atmosphere of which this plant does 
remarkably well. It was once the most important article of 
export on the Isthmus, but the demand for this commodity has 
fallen off greatly with the introduction of mineral dyes, and 
cultivation is now confined to the neighborhood of Iztaltepec, 
the indigo center for this region. 

The indigo plant (Indigofera disperma) much resembles 
a young asparagus plant after the leaves have formed, but 
the leaves are not similar but resemble rather those of the 
common locust. Indigo is planted in rows two feet apart, so 
as to permit of hoeing. The best crops are derived from new 
land, which is therefore generally selected. A planting lasts 
four years, one crop being gathered each year. The second 
and third crops are the best, and about forty pounds to the 
acre is accounted a good crop. To extract the pigment the 
whole plant is soaked in water for twenty-four hours, when 
fermentation occurs and the indigo is extracted and held 
suspended in the water. The plants are then removed and 
the water agitated with paddles until the indigo curdles. 
Gulabere juice is then added and the indigo is precipitated in 
flaky masses, after which the water is drawn off. Then the 
indigo is dried, pressed, and packed in bales for the market. 

The public should exercise caution in investing in rubber 
plantations in southern Mexico. Rubber planting requires 
large capital and no returns can be expected for a number 
of years. The Isthmus is covered with abandoned rubber 
plantations from which the promoter alone has profited. Rub- 
ber trees grow wild in the forests of the Chiapas littoral and 
there, and there alone, has the cultivation of rubber been 
successful. The La Zacualpa plantation, under the able man- 
agement of Mr. Graham M. Kerr, consists of 18,000 acres, of 






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INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 181 

which 10,000 are in rubber, the trees ranging from ten to 
twenty years old. There is another considerable plantation 
at Mapastepec under the management of Howard T. Manley. 
All the plantations in Chiapas are planted with the tree known 
as Castiloa elastica. 

The dry Pacific plains of the Isthmus are well adapted to 
the culture of plants of the agave family. Sisal or henequin 
can be successfully grown in the region between Juchitan and 
Tonala. But much more important in these parts are the 
ixtle and pita. These abound wild §nd are also cultivated, 
improving the quality. In general appearance they resemble 
sisal, but are of much finer fiber, some varieties possessing a 
silky texture. They are set out in rows four feet apart, the 
plants in the row being at intervals of two or three feet. Their 
blue-green leaves, springing from a fleshy bulb resembling a 
pineapple, are from two to five feet in length and about three 
inches in width at the base, tapering to a thorn-capped point. 
The outer leaves are cut from time to time as they mature. 
They are used in the manufacture of hammocks (the bed of 
the Isthmean Indian), paper, cord, coarse cloth, and thread. 
The best varieties, owing to the silky texture of their fiber, 
are adapted to the manufacture of fine dress-goods. 

Tons of second-hand newspapers are imported from the 
United States yearly for use as wrapping paper. No paper is 
manufactured locally and the price of paper is very high. With 
practically inexhaustable supplies of agave growing on the 
plains there is an excellent opportunity for the establishment 
of paper mills. 

Native tobacco and cigars are very cheap on the Isthmus. 
Considerable tobacco is grown for home use but none for ex- 
port. This is an industry which will admit of considerable 
expansion. The Mexican government imposes a high import 



182 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

duty on foreign tobaccos, and export duties are also imposed 
from time to time on leaf tobacco. These vary from two and 
one-half cents (U. S. currency) to four and one-half cents per 
kilo on wrapper tobacco and from one to two and one-half 
cents on filler tobacco. 

Vanilla is a native of Mexico, where it has been used from 
time immemorial for flavoring chocolate. Much of the vanilla 
of commerce is still gathered from vines (Epidendrum vanilla) 
growing wild in the Chimalapas. There the plant flowers in 
February and the bean is ripe in June. It is cultivated to a 
small extent but receives far less attention than the circum- 
stances warrant. Its culture is very simple and could easily 
be made quite profitable. 

A rich, well-drained soil is required for vanilla, the 
plants being raised from cuttings, which should be set near 
a tree or post for support. The plants commence to seed the 
second year and are in full bearing the fourth year. They 
flower in February and March and the pods are ripe in five 
months. After the beans have been properly cured they are 
packed in cans, soldered up, and shipped to market. 

The sarsaparilla abounds along the upper waters of the 
Coatzacoalcos and its tributaries, being so common along the 
upper course of the Puerta as to give rise to the belief that the 
waters are rendered medicinal by its presence. 

The Palma Cristi or castor-oil tree grows wild along 
all the river banks on both sides of the Isthmus. I say "tree" 
advisedly, because the plant here attains gigantic proportions. 
I recollect a beautiful tree fully fifteen feet in height which 
grew close by the station house at Tehuantepec. The wild plant 
is so abundant that a large amount of beans might readily be 
gathered for export, and I believe it a very paying crop where 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 183 

grown on irrigated land. Its culture without irrigation has 
been tried with unsatisfactory results. 

Rice is easily grown but is seldom raised, the American 
Indian not being a rice eater. No wheat is raised on the Isth- 
mus nor in any of the adjacent parts of Mexico, though several 
attempts have been made to grow it on the table lands of the 
divide. Undoubtedly, however, wheat might be successfully 
grown in the higher parts of the Chiapas plateau as an inferior 
grade of rye is now grown there by the Indians. Flax of ex- 
cellent quality grows on the plateaux of the dividing range; 
which reminds us that linen is said to have been in use among 
the ancient Aztecs and Zapotecs. 

Among other plant and forest products which may be 
exploited to advantage are the following: Cassia, ginger, pep- 
per (black), cubebs, licorice, balsam of Peru, copal, guapinol 
(frankincense), liquidamber and sassafras. 

Southern Mexico produces a great quantity of fruit gen- 
erally of poor quality it is true, for improved varieties have 
been but seldom introduced and the Indian, who is the main 
producer, grows entirely from seed. I have no doubt that ex- 
cellent varieties were originally introduced by the Spaniard, 
but with continual growing from the seed ever since and no 
attempt at selection or hybridization, the present fruits have 
"reverted to type," to use the jargon of science, and the under- 
sized, gnarly, insipid specimens of apples, peaches, and quinces 
brought to the market, in this land where the best could be 
raised, are trying, to say the least. The native tropical fruits 
are better, but even these are generally from seed. 

The raising of fruit by the foreigner is another matter. 
Before the Revolution there were hundreds of plantations in 
improved varieties of fruit along the Coatzacoalcos and the 
line of the Vera Cruz al Istmo railway. These are grown up 



184 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

to jungle now, but two or three years, so great is the recupera- 
tive power of nature in this favored region, will see them again 
in full bearing. 

In a few instances foreigners have planted orchards of 
temperate-zone fruits on the plateaux near the larger cities 
and have met with marked success. There is no reason why 
more might not do so. The Mexican consumer buys inferior 
fruit because it is often the only kind available; but he will 
always buy the best in the market, for he is a ready spender. 
J know of no better investment than a large orchard of choice 
varieties of fruits of the temperate zone, such as apples, pears, 
and peaches. This would of course require an altitude of three 
thousand feet or more. 

The fact that orange, lemon and lime are found growing 
wild in the Isthmus country is strong evidence that the coun- 
try is well adapted to their culture. These fruits are grown 
on the Gulf side without the irrigation and fertilization so 
necessary in southern California and come into the market a 
good month earlier. When it is considered that fruit may be 
shipped from the Isthmus to New York (2,000 miles) almost 
entirely by cheap water transportation, while the California 
citrus fruit growers must ship their fruit 3,177 miles by rail, 
it does not require a very deep mathematician to figure the 
Mexican grower's advantage. 

While the grape fruit is not found wild like the orange, 
lemon, and lime, yet being of the same family and reaching 
perfection under the same climatic conditions, it has surprised 
all who have given it a trial in the size and beauty of the fruit. 
During my stay at Salina Cruz I was several times the re- 
cipient of a box of grape fruit from mj^ friend Jesus Alvarez 
(Who dwelt on the Coatzacoalcos midway between Santa Lu- 
crecia and Chivela), fruit fully equal to the Florida product. 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 185 

Tropical Mexico is the home of the banana, of which there 
are some twenty varieties. The banana bears fruit one year 
after planting, each plant bearing a bunch which, according to 
the variety, contains from 100 to 200 bananas. The cultivation 
of the plant could not be simpler. The young plants are set out 
and the cultivator takes no further notice of them until the 
fruit is ripe for gathering; the crop is certain. After pro- 
ducing a bunch of fruit the stalk dies ; but for each stalk that 
withers, many shoots grow up around it, a generation of dif- 
ferent sizes arising to form a thicket in place of the single 
trunk which formerly existed. Thus, from the first year the 
production goes on, and four, six, or more bunches per annum 
can be cut from the same clump, the harvest lasting the year 
round. The generation is continuous, but the number of 
bunches increases with the age of the plant. 

The banana, to be successful and perfect in size and 
flavor, requires irrigation or a rainfall of about 100 inches per 
annum. It grows spontaneously in great abundance near the 
Gulf coast. On lands near the sea great plantations of banana 
trees can be laid out at a cost of 5 cents to 10 cents per plant, 
which includes all expense up to the time of fruiting. An acre 
will produce from 700 to 800 bunches, at a cost not exceeding 
15 cents per bunch. 

The regions of the earth where the banana may be grown 
successfully on a large scale are limited, and of those regions 
only a very small part can be devoted to banana culture with 
assurance of commercial success, for the reason that he who 
would grow for export must plant on the borders of navigable 
waters giving ready access to harbors where ships may safely 
lie while loading. These conditions are realized in the banks 
of the lower Coatzacoalcos. 



186 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

I have already spoken of the papaw (papaya ,Sp.). It is 
one of the most common trees in southern Mexico, growing in 
hoLiseyards everywhere without any care whatever. Besides 
the use of the fruit as a dessert, much as we use the cantaloupe, 
it is also used in the preparation of papain, an article exported 
and used in the manufacture of peptonized foods. 

The milk of the papaw possesses the property of rendering 
meat tender, and in fact partially digesting it. It is obtained by 
making a scratch or shallow incision in the skin of the papaw 
fruit while in green condition. A bone or wooden knife similar 
to a paper knife should be employed in making the incision, 
as it is essential that no metal implement be employed. The 
milky fluid exudes rapidly and is caught in an earthenware 
or glass vessel. The fruit is not removed from the tree and 
may be tapped several times at intervals of two or three days. 

The juice coagulates soon after collection and takes the 
foimi of a snow-white curd possessed of a somewhat pungent 
but not putrid smell. It speedily decomposes if not rapidly 
dried and when decomposing emits a most unpleasant odor. 
Drying is effected by spreading the coagulated milk on drying 
frames nxade by stretching brown linen on light wooden 
frames. The drying is continued until the product is crisp and 
in such condition that it can be reduced to a fine powder. Then 
it is ground to powder and packed in airtight tins or bottles. 

The fresh papaya is very popular as a dessert fruit as it 
promotes digestion. 

If rapid transportation to San Francisco could be assured, 
the pineapple industry would pay on the Pacific plains. The 
climate is well suited to the growth of pineapples, which excel 
in size and sweetness those of any other part of the Republic. 
The question of transportation solved, the matter of labor 
would need consideration. The planter on the plains would 
of necessity employ Zapotec laborers, and the Zapotec is the 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 187 

best kind of a workman if well treated but a very bad man if 
abused. He must be met half way. 

The pineapple is one of the most delicious fruits grown 
in the tropics. It requires no more care and attention than 
the cabbage; and like cabbage is planted about 4,000 plants to 
the acre. The apple grows from the shoots which spring up 
about the base of the mother plant when fruiting is complete. 
These shoots when set out will produce ripe fruit in from 12 
to 18 months, according to variety. There are a number of 
varieties, which ripen at different seasons, producing fruit of 
varying sizes. Pineapples weighing from ten to eighteen 
pounds are often seen at Tehuantepec. 

Coconuts and cohune nuts grow wild along the Pacific 
littoral; but they can be raised successfully only near the 
coast, not further back than twelve or fifteen miles at most. 

There is a fortune in raising coconuts. In five years from 
planting the tree attains a diameter of twelve inches and be- 
gins to bear, the yield increasing until the average is 300 to 
400 nuts per tree per annum. The tree usually bears until it 
is about fifty years old. The nut is always in demand and the 
shell is used for making buttons, drinking cups, etc. A grove, 
once established, yields a steady profit, without attention 
except to gather and prepare the nuts for market. There is 
a world market for copra and coconut oil, the latter being used 
largely in the manufacture of soap, medicinal preparations and 
druggists supplies, and as an adulterant for butter or substi- 
tute for lard and butter. 

Cohune nuts or Coquitos de aceite (little oil coconuts) 
are dwarf coconuts about two inches in diameter. They con- 
tain a very high percentage of oil, between 50 and 60 per cent. 
The oil is used in the manufacture of soap, candles, and for 



188 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

lighting purposes. These nuts are gathered in the winter and 
are used by the local soap factories, but are Jiot exported. 

The success of bee culture has been demonstrated. For 
eleven months in the year the bees can shift for themselves. 
Sometimes they require feeding for a month or six weeks in the 
latter part of summer. Bees are kept mainly for the wax, 
vast quantities of which are consumed in the manufacture of 
candles for religious purposes. It is necessary to export the 
greater part of the honey as the Indians have never formed 
a taste for that article. Don Carlos Parkins, who conducted 
an apiary at Tehuantepec, explained to me that one of the good 
points of the business was that it rendered one independent 
of the bandits. He could place his apiary in the court of a 
city house and abide there in peace while his bees explored 
the country round about for honey. They alone could gather 
produce in the country without paying blackmail to the bandit. 

I heard while there that an excellent wild honey was 
obtained in great quantities in the mountains of Chimalapa 
from a stingless bee, and I asked Don Carlos what he thought 
of it and whether it would not be well to domesticate these 
bees, since they had no stings. "Well, seeing that you want my 
opinion, I'll tell you what I think," he said. "In my opinion 
they are a poor sort of bees because, having no stings, they 
evidently are lacking in 'pep'." 

The timber business will always attract many to the 
Isthmus and the Chiapas littoral, since it yields more imme- 
diate returns than most other lines and the demand for the 
hard woods of the tropics is steady. The species of valuable 
timber are numberless. The leading kinds exploited on the 
Gulf plains are mahogany, Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata), 
macaya (said to petrify when cut) , guapaque, papodilla, piqui 
(ironwood) , brazilwood, and guanacastle. The mountains pro- 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 189 

duce pine, Spanish oak (Tecoma penlaphila), sapodilla, brazil- 
wood, and guanacastle; while the principal woods utilized on 
the Pacific plains are lignum vitae (guayacan), rosewood, 
jicara (calabash), ebony, mezquite (used in the manufacture 
of gun stocks), boj (boxwood), brazilwood, cascalote, grana- 
dillo, guanacastle, and palo bianco (satin wood). The region 
abounds in waterpower for the operation of sawmills, and the 
local prices for lumber are high, thus furnishing a good do- 
mestic as well as foreign market. 

Lumber is largely imported from the United States, the 
Mexican mills supplying but a small part of the demand. There 
will be, on account of the recent revolution, a great demand 
for railroad crossties for some years. 

The present export duties on timber shipped from Mexico 
are: Ordinary wood (logs), not otherwise specified, $0.75 
U. S. currency per cubic meter (35,314 cu. ft.) ; ties or sleep- 
ers, $0.12 1-2 per 100 kilos (220.462 lbs.). 

One of Mexico's most pressing needs is well-equipped, 
up-to-date furniture factories. There are at present none 
in the country. Furniture is made by hand in a small way 
in all the towns ; furniture distinguished by the excellence of 
the material used (generally mahogany), but crude and 
clumsy. In the nature of things light, cheap furniture is not 
manufactured at all. A modern factory which could turn out 
the cheaper as well as the more costly grades of furniture 
would rapidly create a market for the former. 

I fear the Isthmus will never be famed for its mines. The 
scarcity of the precious metals is one of its marked features. 
The region has been thoroughly explored for gold, which has 
never been found in paying quantities, nor are there any indi- 
cations of the presence of silver, copper, lead or mercury. 
There is, however, an abundance of iron ore in the dividing 



190 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

range. Beds of specular iron ore exist in Chivela pass and 
at Campanario Hill and red hematite has been discovered at 
Tarifa; while magnetic iron ores exist north of Niltepec and 
in the Laolaga hills. Unfortunately no coal fit for smelting 
purposes has been discovered. Manganese also exists in the 
Pass of Chivela. 

Petroleum and asphaltum abound along the lower course 
of the Coatzacoalcos and on the Coachapa, a tributary. These 
minerals appear to be confined to the Gulf coast. All the oil 
property on the Isthmus is controlled by El Aguila, S. A. 
(Mexican Eagle Oil Co.), formerly the Pearson interest, but 
now affiliated with the Royal Dutch Company. Their refinery 
at Minatitlan is the oldest in Mexico. This field produces an 
oil of from 25 to 32 Baume, and is characterized by the short 
period of productivity of the wells and the shallow depth of 
oil. Operations in this field have not been of great importance 
during the past few years. 

The Pacific plains abound in salt, the product of their 
numerous salinas or salt marshes. The greatest of these is the 
Salinas del Marquez, a series of great salt fiats extending from 
within a couple of miles of Salina Cruz westward for some 
seven or eight miles, and separated from the waters of the 
ocean by narrow sand spits. These flats were evidently at no 
distant date a part of the sea, from which they have been cut 
off by the beach, which is steadily encroaching on the sea along 
this shore. 

In the salinas the soil is saturated with salt to a depth of 
several feet. During the summer these flat bottoms become 
filled with fresh water from the rains. This water gradually 
dissolves the saline matter in the soil, and when the water 
evaporates with the return of the dry season the surface re- 
mains covered with a deposit of pure salt, sometimes as much 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 191 

as three inches in thickness. The salt is generally collected in 
February. It is gathered by hand and piled in heaps, from 
which it is loaded onto ox-carts and hauled to Salina Cruz, 
whence it is shipped to interior points. 

Extensive salinas also exist on the borders of the Upper 
Lagoon. These salinas are altogether, if properly handled, 
capable of yielding an immense quantity of excellent salt. The 
primitive methods employed result in a loss of nine-tenths of 
the possible product. 

There exists on the Pacific plain, half a mile from the 
mountains and midway between the passes of Tarifa and 
Chiveia, a hot spring famed in this section of the Republic 
as a remedy for rheumatism, scrofula, syphilis, and skin dis- 
eases. In the Pass of Chiveia, at a point on the Rio Verde a 
short distance above the ford, where the river flows between 
high perpendicular walls of limestone, there are several re- 
markable thermal springs. 

What the Isthmus lacks in metals is fully compensated for 
by its abundant supply of good building stone. The Masahua 
and Majada ranges of the divide abound in blue mountain 
limestone, which forms everywhere the summits of the ranges. 
In fact, soft and compact blue limestones, porphyry, syenite, 
and granite, not only abound throughout the mountains of the 
divide, but may be quarried as needed from most of the cerros 
which dot the Pacific plains. Dani Lieza, at Tehuantepec, pro- 
duces a beautiful blue limestone, almost as hard as marble, 
specimens of which may be seen in the street curbing at Salina 
Cruz; and the finest of white and black marbles outcrop at 
Chiveia and Masahua passes, at the Convento HiU, and in the 
Cucumates hills. 

But the greatest mineral wealth so far discovered in this 
region is found in the onyx fields which lie in the mountainous 



192 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

upper portion of the Tehuantepec River valley and along the 
Tequisistlan, a tributary of that stream. Several valuable 
fields are known to exist in that locality, and it is probable that 
more will be brought to light when the district shall have been 
thoroughly explored. The main field thus far developed lies 
four miles above Tequisistlan on the river of that name. Onyx 
is known to exist here over an area of about 1,000 acres, lying 
close to the surface, so as to require but little stripping. This 
onyx is much superior to that of Lower California, bringing 
$7.50 per cubic foot delivered on shipboard at Boston, Mass., 
as compared with $5 paid for the Lower California article. 

These quarries are located at a distance of 35 miles from 
Tehuantepec, the nearest railway station. There are lesser 
fields 12 miles further up the Tequisistlan River, also at the 
town of Tequisistlan, and at a point on the Tehuantepec River 
23 miles above Tehuantepec. 

The principal field has been worked for a considerable 
period. In the four or five years immediately preceding 1910 
some 30,000 cubic feet of onyx were quarried and exported to 
the United States. In 1910 the output was 3,000 cubic feet and 
in 1912, 2,000 feet. After the latter date no shipments were 
made, the fields being within the territory dominated by 
bandits. 

The principal obstacle to the development of these fields 
is difficulty of transportation. Up to the present all onyx 
exported has been hauled a distance of 35 miles, a great part 
of the way over rough roads, by ox cart, to the railway at 
Tehuantepec. A railway is projected from Oaxaca City to 
San Geronimo, but this will pass far to the northeast of the 
fields and will not materially shorten the haul. It would, how- 
ever, be quite feasible to construct a narrow-gauge line from 
Tehuantepec up the Tehuantepec and Tequisistlan rivers to 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 193 

the onyx fields. Such a Hne would not only tap these quarries, 
but would also secure abundance of traffic from these rich 
river valleys. 

At the Tequisistlan field the onyx is largely of the superior 
white and pink varieties, the remainder being sometimes beau- 
tifully mottled. The size obtainable is limited only by trans- 
portation considerations. With the present facilities it is not 
possible to bring out slabs larger than 3 by 6 feet, with a 
thickness of six inches. 



MEXICAN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 

The metric system of weights and measures is the sole 
legal system, all others being forbidden. But the conserv- 
atism of the people has been difficult to overcome and many 
of the old Spanish weights and measures are still in use. The 
sitio mayor and fanega, for instance, are in common use for 
land measurements; while the carga is frequently used in 
market quotations and commercial transactions for corn, 
wheat, beans, etc., and the ton is used for salt, corn, coal, and 
coke. A table of equivalents follows. 

Mexican Metric Mexican Metric 

Units Equivalents Units Equivalents 

Linear Measure Weight 

Meters Kilograms 

Legua 4,190.00 Quintal 46.02 

Vara 83 Arroba 11.50 

Pie 28 Libra 46 

Vulgkda .....'...'......'... ]02 Onza 28.76 grams 

Capacity, Dry Measure Land Measure 

Liters Hectares 

Carga 181.62 Sitio Mayor Grande 1,755.61 

Fanega ...'/..'.'...'...'.'..'... 90.81 Caballeria 42.79 

Almud 7.57 Fanega de sembradura de 

Cuartillo' '..'.'.'.'.'.'. '. '. '. '. '. '. '. '. '. '. 1.89 maiz 3.57 

Capacity, Liquid 

Jarra 8.21 

Cuartillo 46 

Cuartillo, for oil 51 



194 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Official units of ordinary surface measure are as follows, 
in metric equivalents: Vara caudrada (square vara) 0.702244 
square meters; pie cuadrada (square foot), 7.8027 square 
decimeters. Official metric equivalents of units of volume 
are: Vara cubica, 0.58848 cubic meters; pie cubico, 21.7956 
cubic decimeters. 

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS AFFECTING 
FOREIGNERS. 

On February 5, 1917, a new constitution was promulgated 
which attempted a radical change in the status of foreigners 
within the Republic. The Governments of the United States, 
Great Britain, France, and Holland have protested vigorously 
against the decrees since from time to time issued in an 
attempt to enforce the objectionable features of this constitu- 
tion. Now that the Carranza government has been over- 
thrown, it is questionable whether they will continue to be 
enforced. The two articles which particularly affect for- 
eigners are given below : 

Art. 27. The ownership of lands and waters within 
the national territory is vested originally in the nation, 
which had had and has the right to transmit title thereof 
to private persons, thereby constituting private property. 

Private property shall not be expropriated except for 
cause of public utility and by means of indemnification. 

The nation shall have at all times the right to impose 
on private property such limitations as the public interest 
may demand, as well as the right to regulate the develop- 
ment of natural resources, which are susceptible of appro- 
priation, in order to conserve them and equitably to dis- 
tribute the public wealth. In the nation is vested direct 
ownership of all minerals, petroleum, and hydrocarbons — 
solid, liquid, or gaseous. 

Legal capacity to acquire ownership of lands and 
waters of the nation shall be governed by the following pro- 
visions : 

1. Only Mexicans by birth or naturalization and Mex- 



INDUSTRIES AND FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES 195 

ican companies have the right to acquire rights in lands, 
waters and their appurtenances or to obtain concessions to 
develop mines, waters, or mineral fuels in the Republic of 
Mexico. The nation may grant the same right to for- 
eigners, provided they agree before the department of for- 
eign affairs to be considered Mexicans in respect to such 
property, and accordingly not to invoke the protection of 
their governments in respect to the same, under penalty, in 
case of breach, of forfeiture to the nation of property so 
acquired. Within a zone of 100 kilometers (62.14 miles) 
from the frontiers and 50 kilometers (31.07 miles) from 
the sea coast no foreigner shall under any conditions 
acquire direct ownership of lands and waters. 

Art. 33. Foreigners are those who do not possess the 
qualifications prescribed by article 30. (Citizenship by 
birth or naturalization.) They shall be entitled to the 
rights granted by chapter 1, Title I, of the present consti- 
tution; but the executive shall have the exclusive right to 
expel from the Republic forthwith and without judicial 
process any foreigner whose presence he may deem inex- 
pedient. 



Chapter XI. 
RISE OF THE ZAPOTECS. 

DUE southeast of the City of Mexico, some two hundred 
miles as the crow flies, lies that grand wilderness 
of peaks collectively known as the Mountains of 
Oaxaca, and in the heart of these mountains lies a wonderful 
vale, the Valley of Oaxaca. Situated upon the seventeenth 
parallel of north latitude and at an average elevation of four 
thousand feet above sea level, this valley enjoys a mild tem- 
perate climate excelled by but few localities. Perpetual spring 
reigns there, flowers blossom the year round, and the exhub- 
erent soil produces every variety of grain and all the fruits 
of the temperate zone. 

Allah intended this wonderful valley to be the home of a 
great people, and such, at the dawn of history, we find it to 
have been. The origin of the Zapotec commonwealth, the 
Didjazaa of the Mexican southland, or Zapotecapan as it was 
called by the people of Tenochtitlan in their sweet and ex- 
pressive tongue, is shrouded in obscurity ; but if the traditions 
handed down by the Spanish annalists of the generation suc- 
ceeding the Conquest are to be believed, as early as the twelfth 
century of the Christian era the Zapotecs were the dominant 
race in that region. Their numbers at that time could not 
have been great; they were at the beginning of their career 
of conquest, and for some generations they held by perpetual 
warfare and doubtful tenure the valley and its circumjacent 
mountains. 

But as time passed the Zapotecs waxed strong in the land. 

196 






The Chuich of Sun Fethd Vix-imui, 'IV'laiantfc'pec. The M«u do Not gu In 
tlie rhuuii iii-,(\ Hn\e an \\, mnir an- Tiieir Cmnfort 






i jcuioi u( ai 



iL'eiumni(M-)ec. i /u' i ajisus ronu Fart of the Picture 



RISE OF THE ZAPOTECS 197 

Under a long line of able monarchs they widened their borders 
to the south and east and audaciously attacked the indomin- 
able Chontals and Mixes in their mountain fastnesses. They 
built watch-towers against the power of their brave rivals, the 
Mixtecs, on the highest mountains of their frontiers, and the 
name of Zapotec was repeated with fear and admiration from 
the summits of Guaxolotitlan and Tilantongo to the utmost 
rivers of Soconusco. Teococuilco, to the north, and the far 
blue mountains of remote Ayoquesco and Miahuatlan bowed 
to their yoke. 

Nor imagine, dear reader, that the Zapotecs prevailed 
solely by force of arms. Civilization marched with their arms. 
Whence they derived the rudiments of their culture we know 
not; but it is certain that from the beginning their customs 
were more humane than those of the surrounding nations, 
and that their laws were wiser and their religious rites less 
indicative of superstition. It is said that under their polity 
ecclesiastical and military or lay affairs were not confused but 
were administered by two distinct orders, to which circum- 
stance the priesthood owed a preponderance and importance 
which was reflected in the public advancement. Their monu- 
ments at Mitla, Monte Alban and elsewhere are mute but elo- 
quent witnesses to their ancient culture. 

Zaachila Yoo, called by the Aztecs Teotzapotlan, was the 
national capital. It was founded about the year 1390 A. D. 
by the able ruler Zaachila I. A sort of second Tenochtitlan 
it was, for like the latter it sat in the midst of a great lake, 
called Roaloo, where the waters of the rivers Atoyac, Jalatlaco, 
Huayapan, Tlacolula, Mixtepec, and others which had no out- 
let to the south, were stopped in their courses. 

A high rock with several summits arose from the waters 
of the lake and on this Zaachila I ordered the construction of 



198 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

his castle. We are told that this castle was increased in height 
from time to time, additional stories being added in proportion 
as the Zapotecs won victories on the field of battle, in such 
fashion that by the time of the Conquest it had thirty-five 
stories,* paved and beautifully decorated. 

Eight or ten years later the citizens of Zaachila contrived 
to partly drain the lake. The city then grew rapidly and soon 
became undisputed mistress of the valley and the favorite 
abode of its kings. 

This was indeed the era of national grandeur for the Za- 
potecs who, thanks to the teeming population of their capital 
and the soverign influence of their laws, had waxed exceed- 
ingly rich and powerful. Gazing down from some mountain 
height overlooking the quiet valley, one can almost imagine 
that he hears the shouts of their warriors and the echo of 
their folk-songs, and sees the haughty plumed lords bedecked 
with gold and precious stones, the wide expanse of cultivated 
fields, delicious gardens resplendent with many-colored flow- 
ers, and wandering among them the daughters of the valley, 
wondrously fair. 

Alas ! For a century and a half the city prospered. Beau- 
tiful and free, the seat of a benign government administered 
by a long line of illustrious monarchs, Zaachila shone above 
the silvery waters of the lake. But now, alas, how changed! 
The scepter has departed from her. Read the sad words of 
one who loved her greatly and bore unwilling witness to her 
decay : 

"I have passed that way many times and have viewed the 
remains of what was once proud Zaachila. It is a large town 
still, but monotonous and without grace. How different from 

*This seems incredible. Possibly the castle or palace was built in ter- 
race form up the side of the hill, after the manner of the pueblos of New- 
Mexico. 



RISE OF THE ZAPOTECS 199 

that city in the days of her glory ! It lies parched and barren, 
without cultivated fields, and its people are but the shades of 
what they once were. 

"In the valley of Zaachila I found but two lakes, the last 
remnants of the great Lake Roaloo, and there I found the 
white heron searching for its nest, for night was approaching, 
even as it came for the lake and the palace, for the court and 
for its fair denizens, for their glory and for their memory 
also." 

In the year 1487 the celebrated Cosijoeza ascended the 
throne of Teotzapotlan upon the death of his father, Zaachila 
III. A wise prince, a warrior like his ancestors, and like 
them a statesman, it was the most glorious day of his race 
and country. 

Determined to preserve the national independence, he im- 
mediately set about placing the country on such a war foot- 
ing as should make it respected by its neighbors and effectively 
protect it from the ambitious designs of the court of Tenoch- 
titlan. By these measures and the scholastic instruction which 
the sons of the nobles had from ancient times received at the 
Quehuiquijezaa* of Tectipac, he instilled patriotism and re- 
spect for authority among the masses, so that all loved and 
obeyed him with a blind devotion. 

Perplexed by the continued incursions of the Aztecs, he 
sat on a certain afternoon in April of the year 1494, pensive 
and silent. Presently he broke the silence. "Alarii," he said, 
turning to his trusty counselor, "our freedom is endangered. 
To insure our independence we must without delay drive the 
Aztec from our territories. Methinks I hear a voice crying: 

*The national college. 



200 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

'Declare war on Mexico and make the Zapotecs great and re- 
spected.' Harken, my friend; the hour has come for action, 
and to lead up to open hostility I have chosen two points, 
Loolaa* and Liobaa. The first, Huaxyacac, detached from 
the service of Ahuitzotl, will aid us effectively, and the second, 
Mitla, once she becomes interested in the destruction of the 
Aztec power, will place all her forces at our disposal. Of 
course they will be the first victims of Ahuitzotl's wrath, but 
the end justifies the means." 

"Sir," answered the minister, "while your plan is auda- 
cious, I believe it can be put through. Make your instructions 
a little more specific and I will answer for the result." 

"Know then," replied the king, "that a caravan of Aztec 
merchants is now on its way from Tuxtepec and should pass 
by Mitla. There they must die at the hands of the Huaxyac- 
atlecas, or even of our own people, if necessary, secretly." 

"It shall be as you desire, Sir," Alarii responded. "You 
will in due time receive word that the Aztecs have passed to 
the better world." 

Three days later the Aztec merchants were slain. Ahuit- 
zotl learned of this from certain Chalcas, also merchants, who, 
returning from Coatzacoalcos and passing by stealth close to 
Mitla, saw the bodies of their countrymen lying by the road- 
side. Indignant at this act of barbarity, he called in council 
his advisers the kings of Texcoco and Tlacopan and, war being 
decided upon, set out from Mexico with a great army to avenge 
the affront. 

Reaching Huaxyacac he arrayed his army for battle and 
gave the order to assault. The columns of the Aztecs dashed 
furiously upon the city. They joined battle. Blood flowed in 
torrents. The defense was heroic, but in the end the Aztecs 

*Loolaa, the Zapotec name for Huaxyacac. the modern Oaxaca. 




Three Happy Flower Girls of Tehuantepec 



RISE OF THE ZAPOTECS 201 

triumphed and in characteristic fashion followed up their suc- 
cess by slaying the major portion of the inhabitants. After 
this massacre Ahuitzotl directed his forces against Mitla and, 
not encountering a vigorous resistance, set fire to the city, 
leveled its houses with the ground, and put a great part of the 
inhabitants to death irrespective of age or sex. The sanctity 
of her temples was desecrated by the slaughter of her priests 
and the demolition of her gods. 

Ahuitzotl returned from Mitla with a train of prisoners 
and, passing by the desolate Huaxyacac, directed a warning to 
the kings of Zaachila and Cuilapan that they have him in 
respect. From this point he dispatched the bulk of his army 
in the direction of Tehuantepec, Soconusco, and Guatemala in 
command of Tlacochcalcatl, and himself returned toward Mex- 
ico to enjoy the pleasures of victory. The Zapotec prisoners 
were sacrificed according to custom at the feast of the Aztec 
war-god. 

"King Ahuitzotl is fast bringing my plans to fruition," 
said Cosijoeza to his minister. "He has slain many Zapotecs 
and has laid Mitla waste. The affront which he sent us from 
Huaxyacac can be washed out only in blood. The hearts of 
the people are moved to indignation and he is soon to learn 
that the sons of Petela* may not be trampled upon with im- 
punity. 

"Leave at once for the city of Achiutla and speak with 
King Dzahuindanda. Advise him that the march of the Mex- 
ican army toward Tehuantepec affords us the opportunity to 
effect its annihilation, for distant as this is from his capital 
it will be an easy matter to take one by one the garrisons which 
the Aztec general leaves behind him. Tell him that to make 

*Petela, the mythical progenitor of the Zapotec race. 



202 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

the event certain I beg that he lend a contingent of troops to 
accompany me on the expedition, during which the forces of 
the Mixtecs will keep order in Zaachila Roo* while the king- 
dom of Achiutla checks and drives back whatever reinforce- 
ments may come from Mexico." 

Alarii departed at once for the land of the Mixtecs** where 
he conferred with Dzahuindanda and that king, an ally of the 
Zapotec monarch, placed subject to his orders 24,000 war- 
riors commanded by twenty-four valliant captains. These 
forces united to those of the Zapotecs formed a total of 60,000 
men, with which army Cosijoeza set out for the southeast 
in the summer of 1496. As had been foreseen, one after an- 
other the Aztec garrisons fell before them and the terror of 
their name spread far and wide. After a heroic march over 
two mountain ranges, which the allies surmounted in the face 
of the enemy, Cosijoeza arrived victorious in the valley of 
Tehuantepec. The strongly fortified city of Tehuantepec was 
the key to the situation, and upon its possession the success 
of the enterprise depended; therefore without loss of time he 
attacked the town and surrounding heights, winning a decisive 
victory which placed him in possession of all the territory 
which had been conquered by the Aztecs. 

The following day he took counsel with his minister. 
"Alarii," he said, "thus far we have triumphed over our ene- 
mies and have covered ourselves with glory. The work is but 
half done, but I believe we have the strength to see it through 
to the end, if we use good judgment. Tlacochcalcatl will 
shortly return from the direction of Guatemala, and Ahuitzotl 
will send his best troops against us. We must therefore choose 
our position, fortify ourselves strongly, and await either vic- 
tory or death." 

*Teotzapotlan. 

**The Zapotecs and Mixtecs are brother races speaking kindred 
tong-ues. The latter dwell in western Oaxaca. 



Chapter XII. 
THE DEFENSE OF QUIENGOLA. 

THE next day Cosijoeza and Alarii examined the field 
closely and chose as the most eligible point of de- 
fense the heights of Quiengola,* a peak situated 
about fifteen miles northwest of Tehuantepec at the point 
where the Tehuantepec River bursts forth from the mountains. 

"Here," said the king to his minister, "shall be the tomb 
of the bold Mexican who thinks to enslave the Sons of Zaa- 
chila. Command that the crest of the mountain be circum- 
scribed with stone walls capable of resisting any force how- 
ever great, and that there be made within the enclosure great 
pools of water, which you will order to be stocked with live 
fish. In forming these pools you will utilize so far as possible 
the springs which burst forth from the mountain. Besides 
this, lay in great store of salt meat, corn, beans, chile, and pro- 
visions of every sort against a siege which may be prolonged 
to four or even six months ; by which time we shall have come 
forth victorious." 

"I go to execute your commands," said Alarii, "and you 
may rest assured that within a few days this mountain will be 
converted by our army into an impregnable fortress." 

"Arrange also with the towns of Nejapa and Quiegolani, 
that they supply us with contingents of men, provisions, ar- 
rows, spears, maces, and all manner of arms, so that the de- 
fenders lack for nothing. Direct that the pass of the Jalapa 
River be obstructed; and finally, see that our troops are well 

*Quiengola, "the old mountain" as the word signifies in Zapotecan. 

203 



204 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

treated and thoroughly instructed as to their duties. In all 
this I will be with you to encourage the laborers by my 
example." 

While these preparations were under way those of the 
Aztecs who had been dispersed during the recent campaign 
made their way as best they could back to Tenochtitlan and 
notified Ahuitzotl of the distster at Tehuantepec. The despot 
could not conceive it possible that any force, however strong, 
could hold out against the invincible might of Mexico, and 
incensed at so great temerity, arrayed all his power against 
the overbold Cosijoeza, sending against him his most famous 
captains and the most warlike troops of his empire. So cer- 
tain did he feel of triumph that as his warriors set out he is 
reputed to have said: "I charge you, valiant and powerful 
champions, that you take this fellow Cosijoeza alive and bring 
him before me, that I may punish him in a manner commen- 
surate with the enormity of his offense." 

A few days later Alarii entered the king's presence. "Two 
messengers have arrived," said he. "What news do they bring?" 
"Dzahuindanda sends word that he has taken the field in per- 
son and has reached the neighborhood of the forces which 
Ahuitzotl has sent against us; and the Chiapanecs advise your 
majesty that Tlacochcalcatl is three days' journey from 
Soconusco."* "Tomorrow, Alarii, we will shut ourselves up 
within Quiengola." 

The following day the king with all his army marched to 
Quiengola. He posted the Mixtecs, to the number of 20,000, 
on the opposite bank of the Jalapa River, toward the north 
and in a small valley, and with his own troops entered the 
fortress, which had in the meantime been stocked with enor- 
mous piles of stones to be cast down upon the enemy, and well 
supplied with arrows and poisoned darts. 

*Soconusco; the littoral of Chiapas next the Guatemalan border. 



THE DEFENSE OF QUIENGOLA 205 

"Here we die," he cried, addressing his men, "before we 
stain the honor of the Zapotecs." "Yes, yes, we will all die," 
rejoined the multitude, "before we surrender to the tyrant of 
Mexico." 

Four days later the Mexican army under the command 
of Tlacatecatl appeared before Quiengola, 

"To arms, brave warriors," cried Cosijoeza; "to arms," 
repeated the captains of the host; "Long live Zaachila!" cried 
Alarii; and all the multitude answered "Viva!" The fire of 
patriotism burned in the hearts of the noble Zapotecs who, 
eager for battle, awaited the assault upon the fortress that 
they might measure strength with the enemy. 

But the army of the Aztecs, exhausted by its march of one 
hundred and thirty-five leagues, determined to merely camp 
for the time being by the springs at the foot of the mountain. 
Indeed they felt but little inclined to storm the fastness, for 
the dizzy height above them and the martial air of its de- 
fenders filled the hearts of the most valiant with terror. For 
the first time in their career of conquest they realized that the 
issue was doubtful. 

Besides, many soldiers had arrived sick and others were 
beginning to feel indisposed from breathing the sultry atmos- 
phere of the Isthmus. For this reason, and in order not to 
stake all upon the issues of a single battle, the Aztec generals 
resolved not to attack, but to reduce the defenders by hunger. 
"By proceeding in this manner," said Tlacatecatl, "we reserve 
our strength until the troops under Tlacochcalcatl, now in the 
neighborhood of Cuauhtemallan and returning by forced 
marches, are able to unite with us. Thus we make certain the 
favorable termination of the campaign." 

For some days the two armies watched each other, noth- 
ing occurring save certain unimportant skirmishes between 



206 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

the advance guards of either side. The Mexicans completely 
surrounded the mountain, precluding all ingress and egress, 
while the Zapotecs, descending from time to time by secret 
paths, fell suddenly upon the enemy. Every day the enemy 
returned to the attack and when night fell, leaving a strong 
guard, returning to their camp. One night when they were 
least expected the Zapotecs, who had noted this latter practice, 
fell upon the guard in its camp with such suddenness that the 
guard with difficulty avoided a total rout. The Zapotecs 
had descended so stealthily that the Aztecs were hardly aware 
of the movement before they were upon them. 

After this incident the Aztecs observed the strictest vigi- 
lence but this did not prevent the Zapotecs from sallying forth 
and attacking them again and again with equal surprise and 
great havoc. In these sallies it was their custom to divide the 
sallying party into two sections, so that when the vanguard 
was in the thick of the fight the rearguard could throw its 
weight into the balance. 

Cosijoeza was never-failing in stratagems which were in- 
variably successful because they were the creations of his own 
fertile invention. Frequently while one portion of his forces 
feigned a retreat, he with the other part would creep through 
the woods and ravines and, falling suddenly upon the Mexican 
flank, surprise the enemy with frightful slaughter. 

Thus the conflict continued day by day until presently 
the Mexicans found that they had lost half their men, without 
counting the sick and wounded who, far from being of service 
to the army, were a burden upon them. And besides the Za- 
potecs, though they were unable to raise the siege, took the 
bodies of the dead Aztecs from the field of battle, salted and 
dried the meat, and thus replenished their stock of provisions.* 

*Very possibly it is to conditions such as this that we are to look for 
the origin of cannibalism. Besieged bodies of barbarians must have been 



THE DEFENSE OF QUIENGOLA 207 

To a wounded captain whom they captured they displayed 
a sort of bastion which they had constructed from the skulls 
and other bones of the Aztecs, whose flesh converted into dried 
beef, they assured him, was already in their storehouses. Then 
they set him at liberty that he might regale his comrades with 
the tale of what he had seen and heard. 

The siege dragged on; the Aztecs being neither able to 
take the stronghold alone nor when joined by the forces from 
Guatemala for whom they had been waiting. Within the space 
of seven months (from March to September, 1497),* three 
times considerable reinforcements had been sent from Tenoch- 
titlan, but had been unable to force the passes and reach the 
valley of Tehuantepec. 

Ahuitzotl, seeing that he could not take Quiengola, that 
his army was rapidly melting away, as well from the ravages 
of war as because of the diseases which decimated its ranks, 
and that force acomplished nothing, instructed Moctezuma, 
commander-in-chief of his armies, to open negotiations, pro- 
posing peace to Cosijoeza upon advantageous terms. Moc- 
tezuma accordingly sent a herald to Cosijoeza, who, on being 
brought into the camp, thus addressed the Zapotec monarch: 

"May the gods protect you, valiant and fortunate mon- 
arch. On behalf of my king I come to propose peace between 
Aztec and Zapotec. Convinced of your military prowess and 
approved valor, Ahuitzotl offers you as a pledge of his endur- 
ing friendship the hand of his fairest daughter. I beg you to 
accept of this princely offer and also of this little token of his 

often reduced to this extremity. What more natural than that, finding 
the flesh pleasant to the taste, they were led to a repetition of the un- 
natural repast and, the taste once acquired, waged battle for the sole pur- 
pose of gratifying it. Considering the courageous defenses which pre- 
ceded these resorts to cannibalism, we can well understand how the belief 
arose that the eating of the enemy's flesh imparted courage. 

*0n the authority of Manuel Gracida of Oaxaca, to whose excellent 
treatise we are indebted for much of t bis narrative. 



208 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

regard, a drum and a shield of gold, and know that he will 
ever respect your dominions and conquests, won on the field 
of honor and in just reprisal." 

"Noble Aztec," Cosijoeza answered, "I am greatly pleased 
to learn that your lord esteems alike the cause which I defend 
and my valor, and yet more pleased with the pledge of peace 
which he tenders. You will please inform him that, notwith- 
standing the misgivings with which his conduct have inspired 
me, I accept his friendship and the hand of his beloved daugh- 
ter, of whose virtue and beauty I know only by common fame." 

"Besides, noble sir," continued the herald, "my general 
has charged me to bid you send an embassy to the court of 
Mexico to demand the future queen of Zapoteca, where in con- 
firmation of the treaty she will be delivered to you by the 
emperor." 

"Very well, captain, inform your general that from today 
hostilities will be suspended, and that he may return to his 
country without fear of molestation, as I will send instructions 
to my people and allies that no attack be made upon his army." 

As final arrangements for celebration of the marriage 
were bound to be delayed by reason of Ahuitzotl being at so 
great a distance, Cosijoeza, not wishing to waste time, took a 
part of his troops and, proceeding by way of the seacoast, con- 
quered for himself the province of Soconusco with the tribu- 
tary district of Tonala, through which the Aztec arms had 
passed, and returned to his place of encampment laden with 
spoil. 

Cosijoeza shortly afterward established himself at Te- 
huantepec for the purpose of recuperating from the fatigues 
of the campaign and also to organize the new territory which 
he had just added to his dominions. While there a rumor 



THE DEFENSE OF QUIENGOLA 209 

reached him that Ahuitzotl had some covert design in view in 
suggesting a matrimonial alliance. 

"What is your opinion of the matter?" he asked of his 
counselor. 

"My lord," ansv^^ered Alarii, "it is well to proceed cir- 
cumspectly in such a delicate matter. Ahuitzotl's pride has 
been wounded, and he is capable of any baseness which will 
enable him to outwit one who has beaten him." 

"Then," said Cosijoeza, "we had best appear pleased with 
the prospect of marriage and in the meantime watch narrowly 
the conduct of our future father-in-law." 

This resolution could not be concealed from the keen mind 
of Ahuitzotl, who, to avoid the demands which Cosijoeza might 
make, called on his enchanters and wizards, and commanded 
them to find before his eyes and those of his seductive daugh- 
ter, some means of withdrawing from the proposed alliance. 



Chapter XIII. 
THE QUEEN OF ZAPOTECA. 

AS King Cosijoeza was taking a bath one January morn- 
ing at a certain spring embowered within a shady 
grove, called the Pool of the Marchioness* from the 
magnificent view and pleasant recreation which it afforded, 
there appeared before him a maiden of such wondrous beauty, 
grace, and gentleness as to fairly deprive him for the time 
being of the power of speech. Recovering himself presently, 
he thus accosted her : 

"Who art thou, beautiful maiden, and what wouldst thou 
of me?" 

The maiden replied: "Happy mortal, unconquerable 
leader of men, shield of thy country, thou who art the thun- 
derbolt in battle, that killeth when thou breaketh forth in fury, 
great prince, I salute thee. 

"I am Coyolicaltzin, most beloved daughter of the em- 
porer Ahuitzotl, chosen by him to wed with thee. Drawn by 
your fame, the echoes of which reverberate through the forests 
and mountains, and feeling the sacred fire of love burning in 
my breast, longing to meet thee, I besought the gods with 
fervent supplication that I might be conducted into thy 
presence. 

"The propitious gods heard my prayers. First they 
mitigated the violence of my passion ; then they wrapped me 
in a white cloud and lovingly said, 'Go quickly and meet thy 
future spouse.' In divine ecstasy sunk, I felt myself trans- 
lated. Like a flash of light I compassed flowery plains and 

'•"This place, which is near the town of Laollaga about seven leagues 
north of Tehuantepec, is called in the Zapotec language Niza Rindani. 

210 



THE QUEEN OF ZAPOTECA 211 

precipitous mountains whose surface my foot scarce touched; 
and presently, floating through space, I reached this river. 
'Enter here,' the gods whispered to me, 'and thou shalt find 
the object of thy love.'* 

"I penetrated to this spot and, enraptured, felt the gentle 
call of love. My eyes were reflected in yours, and behold, that 
which I sought and in my sorrow thought to have lost, was 
found." 

Cosijoeza, fairly caught in the net of love, interrupted the 
gentle damsel: "Coyolicaltzin, sweet Mexican princess that 
shouldst be queen of beauty, blest of the gods, what brought 
thee to my presence?" Then, beginning to doubt the evidence 
of his senses and overcome with conflicting emotions, he cried, 
"O thou in face and form more perfect than the moon when 
fullest, art thou a phantasm and do I but behold in a delirium 
that which I seem to see? But no — ^be thou enchantress, dis- 
embodied spirit, or woman, I call thee blessed." 

"Behold thou art in thy bath, master of my heart," re- 
sponded the future queen of Zapoteca and, putting aside the 
articles which she had brought for her adornment, she pro- 
duced a bar of perfumed soap such as her father was want 
to use and, commencing to pour water upon him from a golden 
cup, bathed him with her own hands. 

"Now you see," she said to the king in an endearing and 
persuasive voice, "I am a woman. Are you convinced? I did 
not appear to you by incantation from beneath the bubbling 
waters of the spring. The gods brought me from Anahuac, 
even as I have told you." 

The king being now thoroughly satisfied that the lovely 
creature was flesh and blood and no other than his intended 

*For this portion of the narrative we are greatly indebted to Eduardo 
del Valle, author of the poem "Coyolicaltzin." 



212 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

spouse, the royal personages laid aside their heroics and pro- 
ceeded to discuss very prosaically their contemplated union. 
"I," said Coyolica,* "wish the wedding to be celebrated with 
greater magnificence than has even been seen before." "And 
I," answered Cosijoeza, "want it to be celebrated as soon as 
possible." 

"Calm yourself and heed me well," she said. "That same 
sentiment of love with which my presence has inspired you 
burns also in my bosom. But you being my father's enemy, 
this love which today blesses me, aforetime, I confess to you, 
terrified me greatly, for a mysterious voice ever whispered in 
my ear, telling me that that of which I dreamed would never 
come to pass. But my father, whose name has so long spread 
terror and dismay far beyond the borders of Anahuac, has at 
last grown tired of war and now offers you his powerful 
friendship. If you can succeed in obtaining that boon of him, 
I will seal it with my hand and thus the future of our mutual 
love will be assured." 

Cosijoeza was so affected by these words from the lips of 
his beloved that he vehemently declared : "Princess, I am bound 
captive by my love for you and will treat with your father, 
free from all anger and ranchor. I will at once send embas- 
sadors with proposals of peace and a demand for your hand." 

He spoke, and fixing his bright eyes upon the object of 
his love, enveloped her in the effulgence of his tenderness ; took 
her little hand, lifted it to his lips, and released it, all in a 
sweet rapture. Thus in silence the two palpitating hearts were 
joined, and the souls of the two were melted in heavenly ten- 
derness. 

The bath and interview concluded, the princess upon 
taking leave showed him a birthmark on her right arm, say- 

*Out of consideration for the reader's feelings we take the liberty 
of cutting down the fair one's name to manageable proportions. 



THE QUEEN OF ZAPOTECA 213 

ing: "This shall be the sign by which your ambassadors will 
be able to recognize me at the palace, for it may happen, as 
my father loves me greatly, that he will refuse to deliver me ; 
for you know from experience that one cannot be sure of the 
loyalty of a supposedly reconciled but treacherous rival. Fare- 
well. My love, which will prove your fortune in the days to 
come, will safeguard your ambassadors in the Mexican domin- 
ions. Farewell." 

''Abide in peace," said the genii who, suddenly appearing, 
snatched up the lady and bore her away through the air to 
her native land. 

The king, enamored of Coyolica's beauty and simplicity 
of character, left the bath to inform his confidants of the extra- 
ordinary event which had just transpired. All listened in 
amazement. 

"The princess and I have agreed," he concluded, turning 
to Alarii, "to celebrate our nuptials with all haste and in the 
most splendid manner, in keeping with our exalted station." 
"Love conquers all things, my king," answered the minister, 
"and if the princess be true to you, her constancy will prove 
a wall against which the machinations of Ahuitzotl will be 
dashed in pieces." 

"So I think," responded Cosijoeza, "and in proof of my 
confidence I have decided that you go as embassador to Tenoch- 
titlan. You will leave within three days, taking with you a 
rich present for Ahuitzotl, from whom you will ask in my 
name the hand of Coyolica. The most renowned of our nobles 
will accompany you to heighten the brilliancy of the embassy." 

"I thank you, my lord," Alarii replied, "for this fresh 
proof of your regard. Count ever on my loyalty, which seeks 
only the welfare of king and country." 



214 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

The embassy left Tehuantepec on January 15, 1498, and 
from place to place along the way, by order of the king, pro- 
vided that magnificent festivals be held on their return for 
the reception of the queen. 

Ahuitzotl, who had received notice in advance, gave orders 
that his capital be adorned with palm branches, flowers, and 
aromatic plants to receive the embassy from the king of Za- 
poteca. The facades of the temples and palaces were covered 
with tapestries of zempaxochitl in token that the city was pre- 
pared for a great festival, and on every hand pleasure and joy 
were reflected on the countenances of the populace. 

Suddenly a great shout resounded through the city; a 
spontaneous cry in which the people voiced their approval of 
the proposed alliance. The showy Zapotec cortege, slowly 
crossing the eastern causeway, advanced with measured pace 
toward the palace. It reached its destination and was received 
at the door by a deputation of Aztec maidens dressed in the 
most exquisite costumes. 

Installed in the palace, Alarii asked speech with the em- 
peror that he might state the mission upon which he had been 
sent by his king. 

Ahuitzotl seated on his throne, surrounded by the most 
select of the Mexican nobility, awaited the embassy of his 
late adversary in arms. It was a solemn moment, of the utmost 
importance to the peace of those two powerful nations. The 
hoarse blare of the panhuehuetl announced to the people that 
the Zapotecan suite was about to be received in audience. It 
came, passing between serried ranks of warriors whose cos- 
tumes mimicked, now the wild eagle, anon a serpent, and again 
a jaguar. The highpriest leading the procession introduced 
it into the imperial presence. 



THE QUEEN OF ZAPOTECA 215 

The assembled suite, in the presence of Ahuitzotl, bowed 
low in token of reverence; an act which the emperor recog- 
nized with all courtesy. 

Then the embassador spoke: "Noble lord of Anahuac, 
potent ruler of the great and flourishing Mexican empire, be 
pleased to accept this token of friendship from the king of 
Didjazaa.* And at a sign from him the members of his suite 
laid their rich gifts at the feet of the emperor. Then Alarii 
turned toward the throne and continued : "Behold here in this 
many-colored featherwork, stolen by the birds from the flow- 
ers, a mantle for your august person ; and here, prince, by 
these vases of resplendent gold — a magnificent present — my 
lord expresses to you his abiding friendship. He accepts the 
peace proposed by you, not because the late lamentable war has 
weakened his power, for thou must know that the noble Za- 
potecs to the last man are ever ready to lay down their lives 
for their native land, but because he seeks eternal friendship 
between Anahuac and Zapoteca." 

Ahuitzotl, with an appearance of tranquility concealing 
well the tumult in his heart, made answer: "Sir embassador, 
I accept with pleasure this magnanimous gift from your 
valiant lord who has measured strength, with me in battle. 
That peace which is the greatest boon of nations shall be from 
this day secure ; to that I pledge my sacred word." 

"Your majesty," said Alarii, "the sure pledge of that alli- 
ance which should bind the Mexican and Zapotec nations in 
unity is found in the hand of your noble daughter. Deign to 
consent to her marriage with our king, who, enamored of 
her grace, asks her of thee. Neither unworthy thoughts nor 
fear for the future have impelled him to take this step. In 
this matter he has been actuated solely by love; of that I can 
assure you." 

* Zapoteca, the country of the Zapotecs. 



216 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

This petition troubled Ahuitzotl exceedingly. His face 
darkened and hard words came to his lips, but he stifled them 
and made answer : "Noble Zapotec, you ask what is dearer to 
me than all things else, but I have not tendered my friendship 
in jest. I consent, therefore, to the marriage of my daughter 
with your master." 

At the crafty despot's command a venerable noble hastily 
departed to bring the princesses and shortly returned with 
three of them in his company. Then Ahuitzotl turning to 
Alarii said, "Behold my children. All three are young, all 
three are beautiful as tender roses unfolding with the first 
blush of spring, all possess the magic reserve of ancient 
lineage, ahd each of them has the imperial pride ; make thou 
thy choice." 

On beholding them Alarii wavered in perplexity. "Are 
they all alike, as rumor hath it, the heavenly faces of the 
daughters of Anahuac?" he muttered to himself. Whereupon 
the beautiful Coyolica, who was not with her sisters but had all 
this time been sitting beside the emperor, made a pretense of 
raising her hand to compose her coiffure of precious jewels; 
by this means discovering to the wavering envoy the birthmark 
upon her right arm. 

At this sign, regarding which the embassador had been 
particularly instructed, he turned at once to Ahuitzotl and 
joyfully exclaimed: "The princess whom my king selects and 
whose hand he demands, is this lady." 

The crafty monarch was fairly caught in his own toils. 
No avenue of escape was open. Wounded to the heart's core 
he gazed tenderly upon his daughter, faltering, "Coyolica, 
innocent and pure, my sweet child, I must fulfill my promise 
though it wound me unto death." Addressing the court, he 
added : "My idolized daughter is the pledge of peace. I will 



THE QUEEN OF ZAPOTECA 217 

make this sacrifice for the nation," and presently, turning to 
Alarii : "I will comply like a Mexican monarch. I resign her 
to your king. The monarch consents and the father blesses." 

A three days' feast followed ; on the fourth the embassy 
received its queen. The royal suite then left Tenochtitlan, 
carrying their sovereign in a gorgeous litter. At the end of 
each day's journey she was received with becoming pomp by 
deputations sent out for that purpose by Cosijoeza, who in 
this manner showed his wealth and power, as well in the recep- 
tions which he accorded his affianced as in the nobles who 
were assigned to wait upon her. 

Twenty days later the queen set foot upon the torrid soil 
of Tehuantepec, and there the brave Cosijoeza received her 
with a splendid cortege which astonished the Mexicans who 
accompanied her. 

"Great lady," he said, "we bid you welcome to your future 
home. Be seated at my side and look upon your people," and 
turning to the multitude he exhorted them to thank the benign- 
ant gods for the good fortune they had brought to the children 
of Zaachila. "Here you have the precious pledge of peace," 
he said, "which secures to the Zapotecs their autonomy and 
their conquests, to your king happiness beyond measure, and 
to his people the tenderest watchcare. Let us ever love and 
respect her." 

Coyolica, naturally modest and shy, but carried away by 
the enthusiasm of the occasion, addressing the assembled 
nobles and people from her seat responded: "You behold in 
me, my people, not the queen of their illustrious race, but a 
mother ever ready to share your joys and console you in your 
afflictions." 



218 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

After this the solemn marriage ceremony took place in 
accordance with the forms of the Zapotec religion. The nup- 
tials were the occasion of universal rejoicing and were par- 
ticipated in by Zapotecs, Mixtecs, and Aztecs with a brilliancy 
and magnificence never seen at former feasts; Coyolica being 
the object of the most profound demonstrations of respect and 
homage, as well at the court of Zaachila, which capital cele- 
brated the event with feasting and merriment, as throughout 
the lesser towns of the kingdom. 

At the end of the eight-days festival the Aztecs returned 
to their country and later the Mixtecs, to whom Cosijoeza 
ceded as a reward for their services a place near Tehuantepec 
later known as Mixtequilla, following in this matter the policy 
of his ancestors, which consisted in fulfilling a promise in such 
manner that while the other party was not altogether de- 
frauded, neither was he completely satisfied. This measure 
displeased the Mixtecs, who a few years later abandoned the 
site, which finally became incorporated in the kingdom of 
Tehuantepec. 

Cosijoeza and Coyolica loved each other greatly, remained 
constant to one another, and lived a happy married life. 

The king remained for a considerable time at Tehuan- 
tepec, enjoying the fruits of victory. The Zapotecs in the 
meantime, pleased with the fertile plains of the Isthmus, took 
possession of the lands which they had acquired by conquest, 
confining the Huaves, the original possessors of the soil, to 
the narrow area betwixt the great lagoons and the sea. The 
Zapotecs settled the country eastward to the limits of Chiapas, 
peopling the plains with that population ever active, restless, 
and intelligent, which has stirred up so many wars through 
its restlessness and indomitable bravery. These Zapotecs of 



THE QUEEN OF ZAPOTECA 219 

the plains have in the course of time become somewhat differ- 
entiated from those of the highlands in speech (they speak a 
dialect slightly different from the mountaineers), and even 
more in style of dress, but they are still essentially one people. 



Chapter XIV. 
COSIJOEZA AND AHUITZOTL. 

IN October of the year 1498 the queen gave birth to a son 
to whom was given the name Bitopaa, that is to say, Son 
of Delight. The child died while very young. This sad 
event filled with sorrow the parents' hearts, which a little be- 
fore had overflowed with joy as they fondled the first fruit of 
their love. For this reason Cosijoeza removed to Zaachila, 
leaving at Tehuantepec a relative in charge of the reins of 
government. 

Ahuitzotl in the meantime being free from the cares of 
war, for profound peace reigned throughout his dominions, 
bethought himself that the time had come for putting into 
effect his well-matured plan for subjugating the Zapotecs and 
sacrificing Cosijoeza on the altar of Huitzilopochtli. The re- 
membrance of Quiengola was a goad which tortured his pride, 
and he could not rest while his glory as a conqueror remained 
eclipsed by the popularity of that famous warrior, who he 
knew had by his valor and talents raised himself to an equality 
with the greatest heroes. Vengeance on the one hand and 
ambition on the other urging him to war, he set about the exe- 
cution of his plan, in which he counted upon the filial love of 
Coyolica to aid him. 

Calling before him two of his relatives who were in the 
public service, he said: "You will go as ambassadors to the 
court of Zaachila. Here is a magnificent gift. Take it and 
carry it to my son-in-law Cosijoeza, to whom you will state 
that by it he will understand how much I esteem him. This 

220 



COSIJOEZA AND AHUITZOTL 221 

done, you will beg in my name permission for the passage of 
my troops through his territories in the direction of Chiapas 
and Guatemala, as I desire to conquer those provinces and 
permanently incorporate them with my dominions. This 
granted, you will thank him and request that his people furnish 
the necessary supplies for the army en route. 

"Besides this," he added, "you will endeavor to Inform 
yourselves as to the resources, power, and military forces at 
his disposal, for you understand I wish to avenge myself of the 
defeat which I suffered at Quiengola. In furtherance of this 
object you will seek private audience with Coyolica and per- 
suade her to reveal to you the state secrets of her hubsand, 
what the nature of his gods may be, and whatever else you may 
judge of value to us. In revealing these things, you will tell 
her, she will aid her father in striking his greatest enemy a 
decisive blow." 

The ambassadors bowed low and departed on their mis- 
sion. After having been fourteen days on the road they reached 
Zaachila and being announced to Cosijoeza were immediately 
brought before his throne, that he might learn of them the 
mission with which they had been entrusted by the ruler of 
Anahuac. 

"To what cause do I owe this favor from the sovereign of 
Mexico," he said. 

"Mighty king," they answered, "Ahuitzotl sends you this 
present in testimony of his friendship, and begs that you will 
permit the troops of Anahuac to pass through your dominions 
en route to Chiapas and Guatemala, provinces which he desires 
to annex to his empire." 

"Noble Aztecs," Cosijoeza replied, "in the name of my 
people I cordially thank your lord for the present which he 
has been pleased to send. I receive this token of friendship 



222 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

as a significant pledge of our alliance and, believe me, trust 
the gods will grant my father-in-law a long and happy life. 
But as to the request of the ruler of Anahuac, that is a dif- 
ferent matter and must be determined in council, for which 
reason I cannot make answer at once. As it will be some days 
before the council assembles, I beg you will wait at court. In 
the meantime we will take the matter under advisement." 

And then the king directed that the ambassadors be quar- 
tered in the most luxurious apartments of the palace, in view 
of their high station. 

"It would seem," they said among themselves, for they 
were completely deceived by the benign and trustful air of the 
astute king, "that the gods are furthering the cause of 
Ahuitzotl." 

Then, taking advantage of time and circumstance, the en- 
voys approached Coyolica and said : "Great lady, your father 
has confided to us the secret mission of telling you that he 
wishes you to ply Cosijoeza with your witcheries and when he is 
in a trustful mood extort from him the secrets of what are his 
protecting gods, and where he has deposited the poisoned arms 
which caused the Aztec army such torments at Quiengola ; for 
the end he has in view is to pounce precipitately upon the un- 
prepared Zapotecs, under the pretext of passing through to 
Chiapas, seize their military stores, burn them, and destroy 
the arms. In order that we may effect a complete surprise," 
they added, "you must observe the greatest caution." 

Placed between father and husband by these demands on 
the part of the former, the queen must make a choice and make 
it without delay. Not at first seeing a way of escax)e for the 
dilemma, she replied : "Give me a little time ; I will not long 
delay my answer," and retiring to her chamber she considered 
the matter in her heart. 



COSIJOEZA AND AHUITZOTL 223 

Resolved to do only that which was right she decided in 
favor of Cosijoeza and her adopted country, and calling in her 
husband revealed to him Ahuitzotl's plot, at the same time 
begging that he would spare the ambassadors. Fortunately 
the king was not of a bloodthirsty turn. He listened calmly 
to the disclosures made by his wife, and pleased with her love 
and fidelity said : "Dear lady, I cordially thank you for having 
revealed this thing to me and promise you, by Bidoo,* that 
all shall come out well." 

Cosijoeza retired to his chamber, meditating how he might 
frustrate the designs of his father-in-law. The queen remained 
in her own room, but a little later went out in search of the 
ambassadors and, calling them aside, addressed them as fol- 
lows: "I alone know your mission. Depart and save your- 
selves ere it is too late. Tell my father that while I am his 
daughter I am also a wife and queen." 

An hour after the interview Cosijoeza had concerted with 
Alarii his entire plan of action. Nothing escaped his f arseeing 
mind. He at once called the ambassadors into audience and 
said in the sweetest and most ingratiating manner: "Know- 
ing that time hangs heavily on your hands, I have arranged for 
your speedy departure from this court. Receive these gifts 
which 1 bestow upon you, and inform the emperor that he 
may count upon my permission for the passage of his troops 
througli this country, but that he may not avail himself of 
this permission until he receives notice from me." 

The ambassadors thanked Cosijoeza for his great kind- 
ness, and departing from his presence left Zaachila hastily and 
in great fear ; for the treacherous are ever the most fearful of 
treachery. They believed that the king having discovered their 

*Bidoo, Bitoo, Bitao. A Zapotec divinity. Signifies: "God" or "Su- 
preme Being." From Bi or binni, "being " and doo, too, tao, "great" or 
"supreme." Probably a corruption of Pitao. 



224 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

treachery would, if they failed to make the utmost speed, seize 
and sacrifice them to his resentment. 

Arrived at Tenochtitlan they gave account to their mas- 
ter, who listened to their story and gave orders that the forces 
be made ready for the campaign. 

Cosijoeza without loss of time took all necessary precau- 
tions and prepared for the war which appeared inevitable. 
He hastened the movement of regular troops to the frontier 
and directed that the walls and fortifications of Quiengola be 
repaired. Then he raised fresh levies with which to garrison 
the strongholds of the land. The public storehouses were pro- 
visioned with all manner of foods and other supplies and, 
lastly, store of new arms were provided, the points of the ar- 
rows being touched with poison. 

When all these preparations had been made to his satis- 
faction he sent word to Ahuitzotl that his troops might pass 
through the country on their way to Guatemala. 

Ahuitzotl, directly he received word from Cosijoeza, 
ordered that the Aztec army begin the march from Mexico. 
Half the forces, under the command of Tliltototl, were to pass 
by way of Tuxtepec, Cosamaloapam, and Coatzacoalcos, and 
thence across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where they were to 
await orders; while the other half, led by Moctezuma, were to 
pass by the defile of Cuicatlan and attack Zaachila, making an 
end of Cosijoeza whom he thought to be totally unprepared. 

The first army overran the country as far as Jaltepec, a 
place peopled by Mixes, and reached Amatlan in the present 
state of Chiapas, but were unable to take Tehuantepec which 
had been largely reinforced. 

The other army followed the direct route leading to the 
Valley of Oaxaca, but upon entering the territories of Zaachila 
was met at Loobanna, the modern Etla, by a Zapotec army 



COSIJOEZA AND AHUITZOTL 225 

numbering twenty thousand, which received it with due honors 
and joining the Mexicans watched closely their every step and 
movement. Thus Ahuitzotl, who had thought to effect a sur- 
prise, was himself surprised and his designs frustrated. His 
army passed through the land without being molested in any 
manner, but with many misgivings and fears and constantly 
acompanied by the Zapotec forces, who did not leave them until 
they had passed well beyond Tehuantepec to points from which 
they could not menace the kingdom. 

These events occurred in the year 1500. If the fidelity 
and love which the wife of Cosijoeza manifested on this occa- 
sion was admirable, surely no less so was the prudence of that 
monarch who, far from taking advantage of the information 
he had secured of Ahuitzotl's perfidy, to destroy his armies, 
merely took the necessary steps to secure himself against cer- 
tain ruin without shedding a drop of the enemy's blood, pre- 
serving out of consideration for his wife the most friendly 
relations with the ruler of Anahuac. 

While Cosijoeza was thus successful in his plans of de- 
fense the gods favored him with a second son, whom his wife 
Coyolica presented to him in the year 1500. The advent of 
this child was celebrated with great court festivities, as well on 
account of the birth of an heir to the throne of Zaachila as for 
the favorable omens which preceded his birth. He was named 
Naatipa, the Zapotec equivalent of "Strong Arm." The royal 
parents kept careful watch over the rearing of the child and 
at the end of two years were rewarded by seeing him playing 
full of life on the tufted carpets of the palace. 

About this time the queen became again with child. As- 
surances to this effect filled the court with joy as it was known 
that the king had determined to make his third male child 



22e THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

king of Tehuantepec. All the people awaited the approaching 
birth with the greatest interest. Everyone hoped that the 
child might prove a male, for it was believed that, being 
related to the Aztec dynasty, the emperor would be pleased to 
see his grandson seated on a throne. 

But in the midst of all this word reached Zaachila that 
Ahuitzotl had expired on September 9, 1502. Cosijoeza for- 
getting his resentment mourned the death of his father-in-law 
and Coyolica shed many tears for her parent and, following 
the ancient tuptom, celebrated in her palace the prescribed 
funeral rites. The court and principal families of Zaachila 
joined in her mourning and the populace hastened to assure 
her of their profound grief. I cannot help thinking that this 
must have beeri largely a matter of good breeding, and that 
inwardly they must have been devoutly thankful that the old 
villain was dead. 

A few days later Moctezuma II sent a messenger to Cosi- 
joeza to inform him that he had ascended the throne of 
Tenochtitlan. He answered the messenger, congratulating the 
Mexican people and the new ruler upon the happy event. 

On a certain cold winter night there suddenly appeared 
against the dark background of heaven fiery and radiant 
flashes of light. A fantastic flame-colored vapor hovered on 
the distant horizon. 

"An evil portent," said a priest, "the child about to be 
born to our king will be unhappy and unfortunate." 

"What is his horoscope?" asked Alarii of the priest. 

"Heaven announces," he replied, "that the prince will 
begin his reign with the might and fury of the thunderbolt, and 
close like the wind vanishes in a wail of sorrow." 

This gloomy prophecy was repeated by more than forty 
thousand souls who at Zaachila gazed in amazement at the 



COSIJOEZA AND AHUITZOTL 227 

prodigy in the heavens. For eight consecutive nights the 
children of the Valley gazed in astonishment at the 
strange portents in the sky, and on the seventh hour of the 
ninth day, December 30, 1502, the queen gave birth to the 
future king of Tehuantepec. 

The astrologers, reassembling to interpret the omen, de- 
clared that the prince would be great and happy during the 
first half of his life, that he would reign prosperously and be 
feared and respected by the neighboring nations; but that in 
the end, through an unfortunate succession of events beyond 
his control, he would lose his power and his throne. 

"The gods have revealed to us, sir, that the name of your 
noble son will resound through the secluded glens and hidden 
defiles of the blue mountains of our allies," said the chief priest 
to the king, as the court, all in gala dress, awaited in expecta- 
tion the naming of the new-born babe. 

"I fear greatly, Tiboot,"* replied the king. "Heaven and 
the gods have in the clearest manner foretold the misfortunes 
which await the child. By this token his name shall be Flash 
of Lightning," he said, and the whole court repeated "Cosi- 
jopii! Cosijopii!" 

A malediction had fallen upon the head of the infant; 
upon that head which the grand ladies of the palace covered 
with the finest linen and cloth of fine cotton bordered with 
feathers of every hue. 

Two years later, in 1504, the beautiful queen gave birth 
to a fine daughter. The celestial signs which preceded her 
birth v;ere favorable and the soothsayers, interpreting the 
omens, declared that the princess would be as beautiful as the 
twilight upon the western sea and of exceeding virtue. 

*Pontiff — literally "He who watched over the dead. 



228 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

"Her name, her name?" cried the court. 

"Her name?" repeated Tiboot. 

"Essence of Virtue," cried the king, his heart bursting 
with joy. 

"Pinopaa! Pinopaa!" repeated the nobility with loud 
clamor. 

The customary banquet, at which the king received the 
felicitations of his people, followed the ceremony. 



Chapter XV. 
THE MIXTEC REVOLT. 

COSIJOEZA, feared and respected not merely for his 
power but also because of his profound statesman- 
ship, could not rest so long as the Aztecs retained a 
colony at the very gates of Zaachila. 

"In an evil hour of the Thirteenth of June, 1486," he said 
to his familiar, "my father Zaachila III permitted the founda- 
tion of Huaxyacac. It is a perpetual menace, a spy upon our 
actions, and if not forestalled may become in time the mistress 
of the valley. The Mexicans destroyed the city in 1494,* but 
a few months since Moctezuma II restored the fortifications 
under the pretext of passing that way when he set out for 
Guatemala; and this, Alarii, is but the beginning of prepara- 
tions for an assault upon us. We must not hesitate in this 
matter, for decision is vital to the safety of the nation." 

"And what do you propose doing?" asked the minister. 

"Give ear, my friend, while I unfold to you a plan which 
I have long been revolving in my mind. I propose that the 
Mixtecs make an end of the garrison. They, as you know, 
are ever restive under the Aztec yoke and eager to cast it off. 
With this end in view they have for some years been secretly 
preparing for war, and if they have not yet arisen in open re- 
volt it is because they imagine they cannot count upon the as- 
sistance of the King of Tututepec or upon us in their helpless 
condition. 

*The Christian annalist has here substituted the Christian chronology 
for that of the Zapotecs. 

229 



230 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

"Now we must induce them to revolt by working upon 
their pride and patriotism and lending material assistance to 
their kings; but we must at the same time use the utmost 
caution to prevent the Aztecs from getting wind of our project. 
While the Mixtecs and Aztecs slaughter one-another," he con- 
cluded, "we will wait in expectation, but to all appearances 
neutral. By this means we will prevent our enemies from 
strengthening Huaxyacac and besides we will be freed from 
the presence of their troops, who are continually spying 
upon us." 

Admiration for the king's sagacity filled the soul of the 
minister. "This plan, king," he said, "is as certain of suc- 
cess as though already carried out." 

Alarii set about the execution of the plan with his usual 
promptness and within the space of two months the Mixtecs 
were in arms. We shall see the result. 

Cetecpatl, king of Coixtlahuaca, and Nahuilzochitl, king 
of Sosola, were the leaders who stirred up the people. These 
leaders possessed considerable resources of their own, and 
besides they counted upon the aid of Dzahuindanda, king of 
Achiutla, and Casandoo, king of Tututepec. They accordingly 
got together and agreed upon a plan and to put it into exe.cu- 
tion devised the following perfidy. 

Cetecpatl held a feast to which he invited the chiefs and 
headmen of the Mexican garrisons adjacent to his territories 
and especially that at Huaxyacac, begging that they would 
gather at his palace at Coixtlahuaca with their wives and chil- 
dren, as he desired to strengthen the bonds of friendship which 
bound him to them. 

All who were invited came to the feast without the least 
suspicion of treachery and were received by the Mixtecs with 



THE MIXTEC REVOLT 231 

every appearance of cordiality. The feast over, Cetecpatl 
bade the Huaxyacans farewell and they thanked him for his 
kindness and took their departure. They set forth with their 
families in the direction of Huaxyacac, discussing the late 
banquet as they proceeded; going on their way joyfully, totally 
oblivious of the danger which menaced them. So confident 
were they, in fact, that they had not even provided themselves 
with arms for their protection. 

They stopped for the night at Huauhtlilla, and the next 
day resumed their journey in the same order as on the day 
before. Descending through Duhuacoo (The Pass of the 
Serpent) , since called the Defile of San Antonio, as they were 
passing through the narrowest part of the gorge Nahuilzochitl 
with his men fell upon them from ambush and slew the entire 
party. 

This signal act of perfidy occurred in the year 1506 and 
left Huaxyacac wellnigh destitute of inhabitants; the main 
object with Cosijoeza, who desired to destroy the hated Aztecs 
at any cost. 

Texacan, the king of Tlaxiaco, advised Moctezuma of the 
occurrence, and the latter after taking counsel with the kings 
of Texcoco and Tlacopan sent his commander Cuitlahuac with 
a great army to take vengeance on the Mixtecs. Cuitlahuac 
penetrated the enemy's country and after several encounters, 
in the course of which he was routed by Nahuilzochitl in the 
defiles of the Pass of the Serpent, retired to Huauhtla where 
he surrendered to Cozcacuauhtli, brother of Cetecpatl. 

This ruler of the Mazatecs, a man of a mean and cowardly 
nature, fearing that he might be deposed if he upheld the 
revolt, revealed to Cuitlahuac the designs of Cetecpatl and the 
other Mixtec lords, assuring him that he had taken no part 



232 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

in the plot. Cuitlahuac thanked him and did not fail to act 
upon the information thus acquired. 

The Mixtecs, believing that the enemy had retired to 
Anahuac to return presently in greater strength, placed them- 
selves upon a war footing, formed new alliances, and fortified 
their cities. Nahuilzochitl, the soul of the revolt, even made a 
trip to Tututepec to urge upon Casandoo and his people the 
vital importance of their lending assistance to preserve the 
independence of the Mixtecs. At this time it was generally 
believed that the probalities of success lay with the Mixtecs 
and this ill-founded belief wellnigh worked the ruin of their 
cause, for trusting to the absence of the Mexicans certain 
chiefs took their departure from the center of operations, leav- 
ing the strongholds well guarded and intending to return to 
the strife shortly with fresh levies. 

In the meantime Cuitlahuac, far from desiring to return 
to Mexico in dishonor, had merely sent word to Moctezuma 
requesting reinforcements and the latter, hurt in his pride, at 
once sent to Huauhtla a well-equipped body of troops, and the 
campaign was opened anew. P^'ollowing the counsel of Cozca- 
cuauhtli, the Aztec general now marched by way of the north- 
ern mountains in order to avoid the Sosoltecs becoming aware 
of the movement of his army. The passage was accomplished 
without discovery. 

Reaching the neighborhood of the city by night at an hour 
when he was least expected, and finding the Mixtecs heedless 
of danger and "without leaders, he arrayed his columns in 
order of battle and assaulted the fortress with such impetu- 
osity that the surprised garrison barely had time to seize their 
arms and place themselves on the defensive ; but though taken 
at a complete disadvantage the Sosoltecs fought heroically, 
finally compelling Cuitlahuac to fall back toward the river 



THE MIXTEC REVOLT 233 

where the men of Huaxyacac had been slain. There the enemy, 
by occupying the strong positions which the delile afforded, 
were able to save themselves from annihilation. The slaughter 
was great on both sides. 

The following day the combat was renewed. The Mixtecs 
gave battle, assaulting the Mexicans in their chosen positions. 
Both sides fought well but the assailants labored at a dis- 
advantage, many of their warriors having fallen in the pre- 
vious night's encounter and many others having, as we liave 
mentioned, gone to their homes in the belief that Cuitlahuac 
had retired toward Mexico. They were consequently forced 
to abandon the attempt to dislodge the Mexicans from their 
position, and therefore retired after suffering great losses to 
the impregnable fortress of Sosola. 

Nahuilxochitl received word of this disaster while on the 
road from Tututepec with strong reinforcements and, hasten- 
ing his progress and gathering the dispersed as he went, 
reached Sosola and offered battle to Cuitlahuac. The engage- 
ment which ensued was hotly contested and sanguinary, but 
as one defeat opens the door to many others Nahuilzochitl 
was repulsed and compelled to seek refuge within the walls of 
Sosola. A part of his warriors were dispersed, some fleeing 
down the Valley of Oaxaca and others taking to the mountains 
for refuge. 

After this battle the Aztec army moved against Coix- 
tlahuaca which they attacked and captured, taking Cetecpatl 
prisoner. Him they carried away to Tenochtitlan with other 
prisoners, and there, after they had compelled him to divulge 
the names of his accomplices, he was sacrificed to Huitzilo- 
pochtli. 

Having placed new rulers over the conquered towns, not- 
ably at Coixtlahuaca, where Cozcacuauhtli was made chief 



234 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

as the reward for his treachery, Cuitlahuac dispatched a new 
garrison to Huaxyacac which was now peopled for the third 
time, placing in command one Tlacatetl, a man of great valor 
and administrative talents. 

The only advantage gained by the Mexicans as the result 
of this campaign was to secure a free passage by the defile of 
San Antonio to Huaxyacac, for Nahuilzochitl was still at large, 
keeping up the fight with a handful of braves. 

The territories of the confederate kings of Zaachila, 
Achiutla, and Tututepec were respected by the conqueror both 
because of the strength of those rulers and because it would 
have been imprudent to attack them in their positions, com- 
promising the safety of the expeditionary army. Thoroughly 
comprehending this, Cuitlahuac dissimulated and confined his 
efl'orts to humiliating them through their allies. 

Knowing that Cuilapan, a Mixtec town, and Tlacocha- 
huaya and Mitla, Zapotec towns, had lent countenance to the 
rebellion, he moved from Coixtlahuaca and established him- 
self in Huaxyacac, from which point he intimated to their in- 
habitants that they would be declared tributaries of the Mex- 
ican empire if they persisted in provoking the wrath of Moc- 
tezuma. 

This done, he returned to Tenochtitlan to report progress. 

"Events are shaping themselves," said Cosijoeza to his 

familiar. "While we have not entirely succeeded in our plans, 

at any rate one thing has been accomplished; the Aztecs and 

Mixtecs have shed one another's blood and are exhausted, 

Huaxyacac is but poorly garrisoned, and we can afford to wait 

our opportunity. Our garrison in Danni Dipaa* safeguards 

our kingdom, and we must wait in patience while this colony 

of Loolaa** grows, if the gods will." 

*Now known as Monte Alban. 
**Huaxyacac, the modem city of Oaxaca. 



1 



THE MIXTEC REVOLT 235 

"You are right, my lord," answered Alarii, "we have 
triumphed without striking a blow. True, two of our towns 
have suffered at the hands of Cuitlahuac, but it is as the snarl 
of the impotent jaguar that is unable to harm the skillful 
hunter." 

"Listen," replied the king, "it is my opinion, and I believe 
you will find it to be correct, that Mitla and Tlacochahuaya 
are treating with Nahuilzochitl, which means further war. 
The people are becoming more and more wrought up over the 
sanguinary deeds of the Aztecs." 

A few months after the termination of the war between 
the Mixtecs and the Mexicans, in November of the year 1506, 
Queen Coyolica gave birth to a daughter, her fifth and last 
child. 

"If heaven has favored this royal pair with issue," said 
Tiboot to those present, "it has also made their joy bitter, 
bringing down misfortune upon the heads of their descend- 
ants." 

"What do you foresee?" asked the king of the pontiff. 

"Sir," he answered, "at the moment when your daughter 
was born there shone upon the eastern horizon a dazzling 
cloud, while at the zenith there appeared a portentious cloud. 
These signs indicate that the infant is the precursor of un- 
toward events, in the course of which, through love for her 
people, she will be sacrificed." 

"This being true," said the king, "it is fitting that she 
be called Great-Soul." 

"Donaji! Donaji! Donaji!"* repeated the court with 
enthusiasm. 

*This name was also borne by a daughter of King Cosijopii, who after 
the Conquest was known as Donna Magdalena. 



236 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

The customary banquet followed, at which all present 
expressed the hope that the child might possess that virtue, 
beauty, and courage essential to enable her to accomplish that 
which the gods had in store for her, be it what it might. 

In the year 1509 the peace was again broken. The people 
of Yanhuitlan and Sosola, making common cause with Mitla, 
broke out in open war against Mexico. Cosijoeza, who saw in 
this the final attainment of his desires, merely limited himself 
to guiding by covert means the policy of the rebellious towns. 

"What do you think of this new war?" he asked of Alarii. 
"I believe, sir," answered the minister, "that it will not result 
in profit to its promoters. Nahuilzochitl is a brave and active 
warrior but he stands alone, for the king of Achiutla takes 
no part nor does the king of Tututepec." 

"I am of the same opinion," said the king, "I expect noth- 
ing more than that Mitla will be the victim of this ill-starred 
revolt. Counting on her own naked strength and without first 
securing promise of aid from the lords of Tlacochahuaya and 
Macuilzochitl, she has precipitated the revolt without being 
assured of further help from us than such as we are bound 
to give her agreeably to the policy of my ancestors ; that is to 
say, that of taking such steps as are necessary to safeguard 
our own interest. If by misfortune Mitla should be conquered 
and the Mexicans attempt to impose tribute upon her; — this, 
Alarii, I will never consent to. No town of our confederacy 
shall ever be subjected to tribute until the conqueror shall first 
have passed over my dead body." 

"Then, my king, it is best that Mitla confine herself to 
slight skirmishes with the enemy in case she is attacked, and 
avoid staking all on the issue of a general engagement." 

"Exactly, Alarii, but as it may chance that we must enter 
the war, make ready the forces for a campaign." 




AimthiT of the Xunifion- Ch ur<'hf>- o' M.-nIc.i at S-ii> (Jf'i'"iiiiii'i, 1'fliuatitu).-. 




THE MIXTEC REVOLT 237 

Recognizing the seriousness of the revolt, Moctezuma 
counseled with the kings of Texcoco and Tlacopan how he 
might subjugate the southerners and obtain a supply of pris- 
oners for the festival of Tlacaxipehualiztli. He again placed 
Cuitlahuac in command and the latter set out with a numerous 
army for the land of the Mixtecs. He first attacked Yan- 
huitlan which, notwithstanding the strength of its fortifica- 
tions and the bravery of the defenders, was soon taken and 
the inhabitants put to the sword. 

After this triumph he directed his forces against Sosola, 
which town he found deserted, for the defenders having learn- 
ed of the fate of Yanhuitlan had fled. In vain he spent four days 
scouring the mountains in pursuit of its inhabitants. He 
could not hit upon their trail. He accordingly set out for Mitla 
in search of more prisoners, for he had only taken a thousand 
at Yanhuitlan, a number which would hardly suffice to satisfy 
the thirst for blood of the Aztec war god. 

Now the Zapotecs who peopled Mitla were not wanting in 
resourcefulness, as they had amply demonstrated at Quiengola. 
They were as much distinguished for their cunning as for the 
ingenuity with which they could extricate themselves from 
the most perilous positions. An instance occurred on this 
occasion. 

As soon as they learned that the Aztecs had arrived at 
Huaxyacac they abandoned their town and withdrew to a 
fortified hill situated a short distance to the west. The walls 
of this fortress and the great store of stones which they ac- 
cumulated for the defense yet testify to their military skill. 

Cuitlahuac arrived, reconnoitered the country, and after 
viewing the position occupied by the Mitlans decided to take 
it by asault. But in this he failed, for as often as the Aztecs 
assaulted the stronghold, so often were they repulsed. 



238 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Desiring to save blood and knowing that the defenders 
were short of provisions, he determined to reduce them by 
siege. He threw his lines about the place and pressed them 
closely. In truth the Mitlans were reduced to the greatest 
extremity, for one night they disappeared as if by magic, with- 
out its being known how or by what road they had effected 
their escape. 

The Mexicans entered the deserted stronghold, marvel- 
ling greatly that its defenders had been able to leave without 
being noted, for the place was narrow and their vigilance had 
been extreme. But greater still was their astonishment when 
they shortly discovered the enemy posted on a nearby moun- 
tain. They had, therefore, to undertake the taking of a new 
position and to begin the work which they had thought to be 
finished. 

The Mitlans conducted themselves on this second moun- 
tain in much the same manner as they had on the first, fight- 
ing with spirit but when they found themselves reduced to 
extemities disappearing as if by enchantment, taking position 
on a third inaccessible and well fortified rock, which was in 
turn besieged by the Mexicans. The ingenuity of the one side 
in interposing obstacles was as great as that of the other in 
overcoming them. 

The third position taken, the Mitlans disappeared as be- 
fore but in such manner that the Aztecs did not for some time 
learn of their departure. This is hardly to be w^ondered at 
as they made their escape by a subterranean passage. 

Cuitlahuac being completely thwarted in his designs re- 
concentrated his troops in Mitla and taking from there the few 
old and infirm men who had remained behind, that he might 
have wherewith to grace his triumph, set out on the march 
for Tenochtitlan. In passing by Cuauhquechollan he attacked 



THE MIXTEC REVOLT 239 

and took that place, performing prodigies of valor in order 
that he might secure prisoners to offer up to Huitzilopochtli, 
since he had captured so few in his campaign against Mitla. 

The wily Cosijoeza had kept in close touch with Mitla 
and learned of everything that transpired to the smallest de- 
tail. As soon as word was brought him of the departure of 
the enemy he smilingly said to his counselor : "Now Moctezuma 
will learn through his general Cuitlahuac with what sort of 
people he has to contend and how fully prepared we are for 
war." 

"I am thankful," answered Alarii, "that Mitla has suffered 
no great losses and am only sorry for our helpless old men 
whom Cuitlahuac has carried away captive." 

"Have no fear on that score, my friend," replied the king, 
"he has merely taken them with him to grace his triumph. 
Calm yourself. Moctezuma will not sacrifice our old men in 
the Cuauhxicalli, not only on account of their age and inno- 
cence but also for fear of the Zapotecs, among whom he has 
a colony at the gates of our court as well as free passage to 
Guatemala ; which, should he be guilty of so great infamy, he 
would lose without hope of recovery, as Ahuitzotl lost it at 
Quiengola." 

In truth, the old men of Mitla were not sacrificed, but 
after a time were permitted to return to their homes. The 
men of Yanhuitlan and Cuauhquechollan were the only victims 
served up to satisfy the sanguinary appetite of Huitzilopochtli. 



Chapter XVI. 
THE KING OF TEHUANTEPEC. 

AS the princes, Naatipa and Cosijopii, grew rapidly, 
Cosijoeza in 1510 set about procuring- them a careful 
education that they might be prepared to govern 
worthily. He placed them under the direction of wise masters 
and seven years later found them fully instructed in politics, 
morals, and the other subjects which went to make up a liberal 
education. 

Cosijopii revealing civil and administrative talents which 
recommended him in the eyes of his father, the king called 
in his counselor and addressed him thus: "The Aztecs know, 
Alarii, that the kingdom of Tehuantepec is destined for my 
son Cosijopii. Very well then; as he is already fifteen years 
old and well instructed in the duties of a ruler, I propose that 
he next year be installed as king with all solemnity." 

"My lord," answered the faithful minister, "notwith- 
standing the tender age of the prince the step which you con- 
template is prudent. By it you will strengthen the Zapotec 
power in that remote region, and we shall besides be giving 
the Aztecs an object lesson in the art of government, for they 
do not seem to understand that justice should be the main 
consideration in the government of conquered territories." 

"Exactly," responded the king, "for that very reason I 
wish to place Cosijopii there because, himself a Son of Zaachila, 
he will know how to uphold with dignity their laws and reli- 
gion and defend the land. You shall accompany him and be 

240 



THE KING OF TEHUANTEPEC 241 

his counselor," he added. "The new kingdom shall be upheld 
by my son's valor and your wisdom." 

'1 am your servant," answered Alarii, ''and you will dis- 
pose of me as you deem best for the welfare of our people." 

"Thanks, most noble soul, and now let us attend to the 
preliminaries; and believe me, Alarii, this separation will 
cause me deep affliction." 

Two weeks after this conference the capital was in festal 
array. From all the cities of the Zapotecs and from many of 
those of the friendly nations round about there had gathered 
an immense concourse of nobles and commonalty, to be present 
at the elevation of Prince Cosijopii. The palace of Zaachila, 
richly adorned, was full of visitors and joy filled every heart. 

At ten o'clock on the morning of January 10, 1518, Prince 
Cosijopii appeared in the principal street richly dressed and 
accompanied by many of the leading men of the court, who 
proceeded with him to the palace. The rattle of drums and the 
strident sound of the conch gave the signal as he passed with 
his retinue between serried ranks of warriors who inclined 
the head in token of respect. 

Cosijoeza seated on his throne and surrounded by the 
flower of the Zapotec nobility awaited the prince. The latter 
was announced and Alarii introduced him into the royal pres- 
ence and seated him to the left of the king and next the queen, 
for the high priest occupied the seat at the king's right. Con- 
ducted by the latter before the throne, the king addressed him 
as follows : 

"Prince Cosijopii, your father, King Cosijoeza, favored 
by the gods and the valor of the people, conquered the region 
of Tehuantepec twenty-one years ago after seven months of 
continuous warfare with the Mexicans. Neither ambition to 



242 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

enlarge our territories nor the desire for fame were the mo- 
tives which induced me to make that campaign. I fought in a 
more noble cause ; — the vindication of our national rights, en- 
dangered by the overshadowing power of Anahuac. 

"Peace being effected with the Mexicans through my mar- 
riage with your august mother, I agreed with her to erect a 
throne at Tehuantepec to the second of our living male chil- 
dren, that we might show Anahuac that our conquests were 
governed in the interest of their people. You are that child 
and I am now prepared to fulfill my promise. I therefore in 
the presence of the gods and the people declare you king of 
Tehuantepec. Conserve this inheritance raised up by the valor 
of your race as the most precious legacy which your country- 
men can offer you." 

Then the high priest, anointing him with balsam and 
presenting him with the insignia of royalty, said : "Receive 
these emblems of authority which symbolize power and justice. 
Use them with prudence and ever for the welfare of your 
people." 

Cosijopii was deeply moved. In tones vibrant with loyalty 
he answered his father as follows: "My honored father, I 
thank you from the bottom of my heart for the unmerited dis- 
tinction with which you and the nation have been pleased to 
honor me. I pray that the gods may strengthen my hands, 
and I accept the charge, not for my own profit, but for the wel- 
fare of the people whom you consign to my care; and I do 
solemnly promise to defend their religion, laws, and rights." 

Then the lords and nobles came forward and bowing low 
before the newly consecrated king offered to him their persons, 
wealth, and subjects to make the nation great and happy. This 
finished, Cosijopii gave largess to the poor. 

Four days passed and then there was a renewal of fes- 
tivities ; for King Cosijopii on his father's advice then took to 



THE KING OF TEHUANTEPEC 243 

wife Zeetobaa, a damsel of fourteen years, perfect in face and 
form, the daughter of a noble of the house of Macuilzochitl. 
The wedding was celebrated with great magnificence and all 
the nation approved of the alliance. 

On the twenty-sixth of January, King Cosijopii, accom- 
panied by his beautiful wife, his counselor Alarii, and a re- 
tinue of Zapotecs, prepared to depart for Tehuantepec. As 
they were about to leave his father said to him: "I commend to 
your keeping your little sister Pinopaa, the playmate of your 
childhood. You would feel lonely without her. Provide well 
for her and may the gods be with you." 

''Have no fear, sir," answered Cosijopii. "My queen and 
I love her greatly and we will both watch over her." 

He then embraced his father and departed full of faith in 
the future. Throughout the journey he received ovations at 
all the towns through which he passed. But upon reaching 
Jalapa their contentment was disturbed for the Princess 
Pinopaa became sick of a cold. Pausing there they tried to 
effect her cure, but none of the remedies of the Indian phy- 
sicians would avail. She died, and Cosijopii, hardly more than 
a child himself, shed bitter tears at the loss of the beloved 
companion of his childhood. 

The Zapotec lords met round about the bier and mourned 
the premature death of this child beloved of heaven. Prepara- 
tions were made for the burial when all of a sudden the body 
of the deceased disappeared. There was a loud report, and 
behold the body was transformed into a sphere of stone, with 
surface beautifully engraved, such as the gods designed for 
the reception of those they loved. 

"What was foretold has come to pass," said Alarii, "let 
us bow to the divine judgment." 



244 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

When the nine days of mourning were past Cosijopii pro- 
ceeded down the river to Tehuantepec where, notwithstanding 
his affliction, he was received in state by his people, over whom 
he began to reign on the sixteenth day of February. From the 
beginning he ruled with great wisdom and justice, endearing 
himself to the people by his exemplary conduct. 

His first efforts were devoted to the making of alliances, 
drawing closer the bonds of friendship with the neighboring 
states that war might be avoided. Not that Cosijopii and 
Alarii suspected the intentions of their neighbors or enter- 
tained any grave fears of them. The alliances were intended 
rather as a precaution against Moctezuma, whom they feared 
and of whose far-reaching designs they never lost sight. In 
their allies they possessed bulwarks against the Aztec armies 
on the north and the forces of the lord of Tabasco to the east. 



A few months after the death of Pinopaa the Zapotecs 
raised a temple to her memory on a height near Jalapa, in 
which the miraculous sphere alluded to was deposited. This 
temple was rediscovered in the year 1609 by a shepherd who, 
having lost his way, discovered on the summit of the mountain 
a spacious square, well swept, in the center of which stood the 
once sumptuous chapel of Pinopaa. It was built of well-hewn 
stone. 

He entered and in the central chamber found the precious 
sphere. He reached out and took it, but as he held it in his 
hands examining it, he heard the voice of an ancient Indian 
who emerged from a nearby thicket, saying, "Do not profane 
that holy object with your impure touch, my son, for that is 
an impiety which heaven will not fail to punish, as has hap- 
pened in the case of many who have approached it without 



i 



THE KING OF TEHUANTEPEC 245 

reverence. Replace it and have a care that you reveal not 
what you have learned, as you value your life." 

The shepherd retired greatly frightened ; but being a good 
Catholic informed the parish priest, Friar Pedro Sobrino, of 
the existence of the idolatrous fane. The priest immediately 
sought out the chapel and ascertaining the names of its secret 
votaries reported the matter to his superior. 

The latter entrusted the prosecution to Friar Alonso de 
Espinosa who, proceeding with characteristic vigor, took the 
necessary declarations; establishing the cult, sentenced the 
accused, and handed them over to the secular arm. 

The condemned were seven, and at the recantation they 
were brought before the judge on a great scaffold, naked to the 
waist, with halters about their necks, their faces masked, and 
black veils in their hands. The penalties imposed were light. 
The temple and the sphere of Pinopaa were destroyed. 

Someone, perhaps the same parish priest or his successor, 
perceiving that this righteous procedure failed to eradicate 
the cult to which the Indians still clandestinely adhered, ef- 
fected a new transformation of the goddess Pinopaa, con- 
verting her into the blessed Magdalen, the patron saint of 
Jalapa, to whom the same superstitious worship might be paid 
without running any risk of punishment. 

Nothing further of moment occurred during the first year 
of Cosijopii's rule. But as one deeply versed in the mysteries 
of statecraft and religion, he was from the beginning greatly 
perplexed as he pondered upon the significance of a belief 
which iiad long prevailed among the Zapotecs and other tribes 
of the present state of Oaxaca. For a persistent rumor spread 
among the people that the time would come when there would 
arrive from the east a strange race of men, fair of complexion 



246 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

and strong in battle, who would conquer the land, despoil the 
people of their treasures, and eradicate their ancient beliefs, 
substituting therefor a new and unicnown faith. 

This belief, and the circumstance that about this time 
the people of Tehuantepec became greatly exercised over a 
certain monument called Guixepecocha* which existed within 
the confines of the kingdom, whose strange heiroglyphics the 
astrologers could not decipher, filled the mind of Cosijopii 
with grave misgivings, as it had the former rulers of the land. 

The origin of the monument in question has been imputed 
to the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl who, in passing through the town 
of Magdalena, was said to have cut on the pinnacle of a great 
rock lying in the open country near an arroyo or dry water- 
course a figure representing a religious clad in a white habit 
and seated in a high-backed chair, with hood drawn and cheek 
resting on hand, the face turned toward the right, and on his 
left an Indian woman with dress and white mantle (like that 
used by the mountaineers to this day) , covered to the head and 
kneeling as if in the attitude of confession. 

This figure so disquieted the Zapotecs that Cosijopii on 
the advice of his counselor gave command that the priests 
proceed to the holy island of Monapoxtiac and there consult 
Pezelao, that is to say, the Oracle of Heaven or, as they were 
also pleased to call him, the Soul of the World, to the end that 
it might be revealed to them what the carving signified. They 
did as commanded and the oracle answered vaguely: "Behold 
you have the figure for a mystery and a great omen." 

*From the Zapotecan Guixe, mountain, and pecocha, prophet. 



Chapter XVII. 
THE ZAPOTEC RELIGION. 

THOU wilt bear with thy servant yet a little, son of 
Abdullah, whilst he describes the religious tenets 
and practices of the Sons of Zaachila. Our narra- 
tive deals with prodigies and wonders passing belief, and well 
I know thee for a true believer to whom the abominations of 
the idolater are as the stench which ariseth from the bottom- 
less pit. Yea, thy hand longeth for the sword of the Prophet, 
blessed be his name, that thou mayest speedily make an end 
of the unbeliever. Yet thou must , needs stay thy righteous 
anger and bear with me yet a little, for unless thou have 
knowledge of these abominations thou canst not comprehend 
what in the end befell this people. 

And first I must tell thee what the good Gracida has to 
say concerning the figure called Guixepecocha and the legend- 
ary character of Pecocha. 

It appears that certain erudite historians have asserted 
that the Guixepecocha was carved by the apostle St. Thomas or 
certain of his disciples. Waiving this question for the time 
being, Gracida devotes his attention to Pecocha. This Pecocha, 
if we are to believe Gracida, was a Buddhist prophet who, pro- 
ceeding from Nicaragua arrived in the sixth century on the 
shores of Huatulco, where he planted a cross much venerated 
in ancient times and which the corsair Thomas Cambrick at- 
tempted to burn in 1587, but without success. 

This prophet, according to the native tradition as given 
by Madero of the Redemption, as he approached the Indians 

247 



248 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

saluted them in their own tongue, a circumstance which occa- 
sioned great surprise. He was, they averred, very old, corpu- 
lent, of a light complexion, and had a broad forehead, large 
eyes, long beard, and long black hair ; and was clad in a long 
tunic and mantle. He remained among them for some time 
preaching his doctrine, and they observed that he was of a 
benevolent nature, humane, industrious, wise, prudent, and 
just; one who sought to introduce wise laws. At the same 
time they stated that it was he who had taught them the art 
of smelting metals and sculpturing stone. They seem to have 
considered him an extraordinary being similar to the Cul- 
chunchan of the people of Palenque and the Quetzalcoatl of the 
Aztecs. 

In retiring from that region he is said to have declared 
to them that he left with them the symbol of refuge and that 
the time would come in which they would recognize by it the 
true god of heaven and earth.* 

In passing by the River of Sand he sculptured a foot on a 
round rock and another at the River of the Cross, near Bo- 
quilla. From this point he set out for the country of the Cha- 
tina, among whom he labored for some time, leaving as a 
memento, on an arch ( ?) of the temple of Zentzontepec, three 
hands painted in red and four or five letters thought to have 
been Greek. 

Tireless in his mission, he next set forth for the valley 
of Lake Roaloo, that is to say, for the country of the Zapotecs, 
teaching as he moved toward Totitlan of the Valley, in the 
direction of Xaquija of the Zapotecs or of Mitla. 

Installed among the princes and priests he reformed the 
religion of the country, so that the Zapotec priests never 
thereafter poluted their altars with human blood, but were 
wiser and more enlightened than those of Anahuac. 

*At this point the legend has evidently been tampered v/ith in the 
interest of Christianity by Madero or some later priest. 



THE ZAPOTEC RELIGION 249 

Having finished his work among the Zapotecs he depart- 
ed for the country of the Mixes, where he sculptured two feet 
upon a great rock on Mt. Zempoaltepec. Persecuted by the 
Mixes, he is said to have sprung from a great height before 
their very eyes, without suffering harm, and disappeared. 

Afterward he appeared among the Chontals preaching his 
doctrines. He left among them a cross which he himself had 
engraved and which was preserved until after the arrival of 
the Spaniards. 

He then retired toward the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 
sculpturing at the town of Quietabene, now Magdalena, the 
figure referred to as called Guixepecocha by the Zapotecs. And 
at last he disappeared on the Enchanted Mountain of the Isle 
of Monapoxtiac in the Upper Lagoon, and no man knoweth 
what later became of him. 

Our master Gracida, on very slight evidence it seems to 
me, assigns a Buddhistic origin to Pecocha. He thinks the 
apostle to have undoubtedly been that Hoei Chin (which in 
the Chinese tongue means Universal Compassion), called by 
his disciples Fou Sang, who is reputed to have visited the 
shores of America in the sixth century of the Christian era. 
Gracida contends that the doctrines which he preached and the 
reforms instituted by him in the religion of the primitive Za- 
potecs clearly demonstrate their Buddhistic origin. 

He alludes to the fact that his Zapotec name Pecocha 
greatly resembled that of the Peruvian demigod, Viracocha; 
and considers it surprising that Memquanteba, Bochica, and 
Sube, the apostles of Bogata, Panama, and Nicaragua should 
have appeared at the same time that Pecocha appeared among 
the Zapotecs, and that their teaching should have been so 
similar. He also adverts to the fact that all of these teachers 



250 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

appeared to the several peoples and disappeared in the same 
mysterious manner. 

Was there but one prophet and was it his several disciples 
who appeared on the American continent? Gracida compla- 
cently assures us that while this question cannot be answered 
catagorically, on the other hand it is well known that the dis- 
ciples of Buddha suffered cruel persecution at the hands of the 
Brahmins and from the leaders of the sect of Siva and were 
driven out of Hindustan in the fifth and sixth centuries of the 
Christian era, a period coincident with that of the appearance 
of Pecocha in the new world. His argument is weak. Bud- 
dhism had entered China and had become established there 
centuries before it was expelled from its original seat, and it 
is admitted that Fou Sang was a Chinese Buddhist. 

The Zapotec theogony as it has been handed down to us 
by the Spanish missionaries of the time of the Conquest, tells 
us nothing of the true moral and religious practices of the 
Indians. The missionaries busied themselves solely with de- 
scribing the superstitious side of the religions of the new 
world, the better to justify the vigorous methods employed 
by them in eradicating the indigenous cults. They seem to 
have been very careful to prevent the truth from coming to 
light that the aborigines worshipped the Supreme Being, as 
they unquestionably did. 

But we are far from following Gracida in all his conclu- 
sions. From the fact that the Huaves who inhabit the shores 
of the Upper Lagoon have been surprised on Monapoxtiac en- 
gaged in celebrating the summer solstice, he argues that they 
had been taught the principles of Freemasonry. And again 
because the number of priests of Mitla taken in the palace at 
Tehuantepec was seven, and seven that of those of the temple 
of Pinopaa he infers the Buddhistic origin of the Zapotec forms 



THE ZAPOTEC RELIGION 251 

of worship. The argument is not compelling. Whence Pe- 
cocha came no man knows, but there is little reason for be- 
lieving that he came from China and none whatever for assum- 
ing that he knew aught of Freemasonry. 

We conclude this subject by calling attention to the fact 
that the Pecocha of the Zapotecs should not be confused with 
Quetzalcoatl, the Fair God of the Aztecs. Pecocha, described 
as having a long black beard, is said to have appeared from the 
south and to have disappeared southeast of Tehuantepec ; while 
Quetzacoatl, with long white beard, came from the north and 
departed toward the southeast in the direction of Coatzacoal- 
cos, in search of Tlapallan, without touching Oaxaca, for there 
is no tradition of his having passed through the territories 
of the Mixtecs and Zapotecs nor through Chinantla and Mix- 
istlan. 

In attributing the Guixepecocha to the Aztec god tradi- 
tion had, as we have seen, become strangely confused. 

Now we come to the Zapotec pantheon. Their god Pitao 
was conceived of as uncreated, incorporeal, immortal, and en- 
dowed with attributes not pertaining to the other spirits. In 
speaking of him as the Infinite, without beginning and im- 
mortal, they called him Coqui Cilia, Xetao, Piyeepao, Chillatao. 
If they wished to express the idea that he was the creator of 
the world they referred to him as Pitao Cozanna; if as the 
creator of beasts and men, Huichanna ; while as the ruler and 
sustainer of all things he was Coquiza Chibatiya, or Cosa- 
anatao. 

To this supreme spirit, whose attributes the Zapotec lan- 
guage so fully defined, other spirits and supernatural beings 
were subordinated, each of which had its part to perform in 
the world order. 



252 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Pitao Cocobi was the god of abundance and of harvests ; 
Pitao Cociyo, the genius of rain ; Pitao Cozanna presided over 
fishing and the chase ; Pitao Xoo was the god of earthquakes. 
Three spirits, Pitao Zey, Pitao Yaa, and Pitao Pee, watched 
over the unfortunate and those in distress, and three others, 
Pitao Peeze, Pitao Quelli, and Pitao Yaaye, distributed among 
men pleasures and riches. Pitao Pecala was the divinity who 
presided over dreams, while Pitao Peczi was the god of aus- 
pices. Besides these, each town and valley had its tutulary 
spirit. 

From this list it will be seen that the Zapotecs admitted 
the existence of a number of spirits, but that they recognized 
the divine attributes as existing in perfection only in the great 
spirit, Pitao. 

Pezelao, which is by interpretation Oracle of Heaven, 
is said to have been the principal god of Mitla; but in the 
historic period we find him also established at Monapoxtiac. 

Petela was the patriarch of the Zapotecs, saved accord- 
ing to them in the American deluge. He is reputed to have 
lived a hundred years before Christ and his mummy, pre- 
served at Coatlan, a town of the district of Miahuatlan, was 
publicly burned by the priest Bartolome de Pisa. 

Bezello was the spirit of evil, the Devil ; and Hell, his habi- 
tation, called Gabela, was supposed to be located in the interior 
of the Earth. In Tehuantepec and other Zapotec towns, even 
to the present day, they call this myihical being Binigaba, that 
is to say, "the bad man;" in Ocatlan, Mexabe; and in the 
mountains, Tazani. 

Bicha is a name applied to all animals, and as according 
to their superstition the Devil takes whatsoever form he 
pleases, the belief has arisen that he commonly appears in the 
form of a dog. He is then called Bihui Bicha, which name is 
also applied to a sorcerer. In Ocatlan and other towns of the 



THE ZAPOTEC RELIGION 253 

Valley of Oaxaca this spirit is said to appear in the form of a 
black dog to whom the name Becu Yace is given. Its mission 
is to frighten and do evil to those who go forth at night on 
evil errands. 

As to Matlacigua or Mictlancihuatl, called by the Zapotecs 
Gobezguia, he was a fantastic being who now for a short time 
would take the form of a little child, then that of a giant, and 
again in the form of a beautiful woman would seduce men with 
magical and irresistible enchantments ; or again as a gigantic 
monster filled the boldest with dread. 

He was a malevolent spirit whose mission it was to per- 
vert and injure, afterwards turning into smoke and disappear- 
ing before the eyes of the spectator. In Tehuantepec this 
spirit is called Bixee and in the mountains of Ixtlan, Guatza. 
His mission is ever the same ; his forms, the most extravagant. 

From what has been said it will be seen that the Devil 
and Matlacigua, if not the same being, have at any rate the 
same characteristics. 

The Zapotecs were far from being satisfied with the an- 
swer of the oracle respecting the Guixepecocha related in the 
last chapter; and thus it was that on a certain occasion the 
nobles and people approached Cosijopii and earnestly begged 
him, in fact wellnigh compelled him, to go personally before 
Pezelao and ask him the meaning of the omen. For they were 
desirous to make an end once for all of the uneasiness which 
the figure produced among them. 

The king acceded to their petition and putting on the 
priestly vestments — consisting of a long white robe and head- 
dress of featherwork — journeyed with the multitude to the 
Upper Lagoon and offered up in the temple of Monapoxtiac 
the prescribed sacrifice of birds and fishes. The accompanying 



254 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

incantations were kept up for some time, for the Heart of the 
Kingdom (Pezelao) long remained silent. In the end it spoke, 
but in broken and incoherent phrases. The king, as soon as he 
had fathomed the significance of the oracular utterance, re- 
turned to the capital and thus addressed the people : 

"My people, the great god has responded and in sorrow 
I bring you his message. He has revealed to me that the hour 
has arrived in which we shall be driven from this land, for 
presently our enemies will come from the land where the sun 
is born. White men are they, mighty in battle, whose arms all 
the kings of this land will not be able to resist, and they will 
conquer us and reduce us to servitude." 

"Afterwards they will bring other men clad in a dress like 
unto that which you have seen in the figure, who will be our 
priests and before whom those of us who remain will be re- 
quired to confess their sins on bended knees, as the woman in 
the figure is seen doing." 

Be this legend as it may, and I for one am tempted to be- 
lieve that it has been recast by priestly hands, it is certain 
nevertheless that first King Cosijopii and after him the entire 
Zapotec nation, having learned in advance of the coming of 
the Spaniards supposed that they came from Pecocha. And 
being influenced more or less by recognizing in the coming of 
Cortez the fulfillment of prophecy, Cosijopii and his father 
Cosijoeza abdicated their thrones, as we shall see later on. 



Chapter XVIII. 
THE MOUNTAIN CATS. 

NOW, Cosijoeza, you must needs know by this time, O 
son of Abdullah, while a very good monarch as 
monarchs go, was far from being a saint. While 
everything smiled round about him, while peace overspread 
with her beneficent mantle the Land of Zapoteca, this crafty 
leader, trusting more to his fame than to the strength of his 
armies, began to seize certain of the territories of Cuilapan, 
alleging that they belonged to him of right. 

Not content with this, he sent envoys to the king of 
Achiutla, calling upon him to relinquish the valleys which he 
occupied and confine himself to those mountains which had in 
the beginning limited his domains. 

Dzahuindanda answered that while it was perhaps true 
that the lands in which Cuilapan was situated had once be- 
longed to the Zapotecs, nevertheless the Mixtecs had been for 
a long time in possession and had erected their habitations 
there ; and that many of the inhabitants had been born there 
and their fathers before them. Upon these grounds as well as 
because Cuilapan was the bulwark which guarded his frontiers 
on that side, he professed his inability to yield to his neigh- 
bor's inconsiderate demand. 

Cosijoeza refused to listen to reason, even though a large 
part of his army was absent at the time guarding the eastern 
frontiers against the incursions of the Mixes, and immediately 
gave orders that the inhabitants of Cuilapan be forcibly ex- 
pelled, their houses razed and their crops destroyed. 

255 



256 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

This so infuriated the people of Cuilapan that they, with- 
out waiting for orders or disciplined troops, rose en masse 
and attacked the Zapotecs, who were driven headlong from the 
field. The officer in command was taken in the combat and 
hung on a tree. 

War broke out in all its fury. It was not simply a case of 
two nations, friendly until then, shedding one another's blood. 
All that portion of Mexico was shortly involved in the conflict. 

To Cosijoeza the news of the defeat of his troops at Cuil- 
apan was as if a thunderbolt had descended upon his head 
and he was meditating how he might vindicate his honor when 
an event happened which led him to alter his purpose. 

The Spaniards, under the command of that famous ad- 
venturer of the sixteenth century, Hernando Cortez, had over- 
thrown the power of the brave Tlaxcalans on September 23, 
1519. The foul traitor Maxiscatzin, an old senator of the re- 
public but a man without principle who placed his personal 
resentment before the good of his country, opened the gates of 
the city to the foreign invader. 

Word of this was brought to Cosijoeza who, reflecting 
upon the gloomy prophecies of the sixth century, felt ill at ease. 
Gazing into the future he perceived that Anahuac would fall 
before the power of the stranger because the Aztecs had made 
themselves odious to the surrounding nations. Standing alone 
they would fall, not for want of bravery, but because the thun- 
derbolt which the invaders bore in their hands would fill them 
with fear. 

"We will await events," he said, "and profit from the 
power of these white men for our own and our people's wel- 
fare. I am far from thinking them our superiors in courage, 
for the gods know full well the valor of the Sons of Zaachila ; 



THE MOUNTAIN CATS 257 

but it were the better policy to maintain a friendly attitude to- 
ward them that in the event of their triumph they may respect 
our territories. Let us conserve our stren^h, making war 
neither upon the Mixtoguixe* nor upon the newcomers. The 
conduct of Moctezuma will determine the policy of the inde- 
pendent states." 

Cosijoeza's plan was ill-advised. It prejudiced his in- 
terests for it gave the Mixtecs time to organize their forces 
and attack him in his own capital. 

On the eighth day of November, 1519, the weak and super- 
stitious Moctezuma II without having fought a single battle 
received into his palace him that was to overthrow the nation, 
and who, under the pretext of civilizing the Indians and bring- 
ing them to the knowledge of the true God, was to drive the 
rulers of the land from their thrones and add the land of 
Anahuac to the crown of Castile. 

Word traveled swiftly to the friends and enemies of Te- 
nochtitlan. All were surprised and all hastened to save them- 
selves, some from considerations of policy maintaining a 
guarded neutrality, and others shaking off the yoke and wel- 
coming the Spaniard as the avenger of their wrongs. All 
pursued a natural but mistaken course. Though they had 
ample reason for hating the Aztec, wisdom counseled the giv- 
ing of every assistance to Tenochtitlan in her hour of peril. 

Cosijoeza on learning of the event at first wavered and 
knew not what course to pursue. At length he recollected the 
prophecy: "In the end the Mexicans will lose their independ- 
ence." He hesitated no longer. No call came from Moctezuma. 
The words of the prophecy rang in his ears and he felt con- 
strained to recognize in the Spaniards the avengers whom the 

♦"Mountain cats," a term of reproach applied by the Zapotecs to the 
Mixtecs. 



258 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

god Pezelao had revealed to the Zapotecs at the temple of 
Monapoxtiac. 

His decision made, he sent a courier to Cosijopii with this 
message : "My son, the eternal gods have determined to divest 
us of our power. I, your father, feel constrained by divine de- 
cree to receive the stranger beneath the lofty ceilings of my 
palace. Let us join together in securing the happiness of our 
people, returning to the gods the pledges which they have en- 
trusted to our keeping. 

"If, as I imagine, you are of my opinion, I bid you name 
ambassadors who, joining with mine, shall proceed to Tenoch- 
titlan and there demand audience of the chief of the strangers, 
to whom they will offer our friendship and our kingdoms. By 
this means since we are powerful we may secure ourselves 
against disaster." 

Now Cosijopii was still very young, nor thought he to 
question his father's counsel. Gazing in perplexity at Alarii 
he barely whispered : "Pezelao has declared unto us, 'The sons 
of the sun will come quickly'." Alarii knew not what to an- 
swer. He doubted if the words of the oracle had been inter- 
preted aright but he felt that in this crisis he stood alone, so 
he finally replied, "Let us follow your father's counsel." 

So Cosijopii dispatched ambassadors to Zaachila as his 
father had bidden him. Upon their arrival they were pre- 
sented to Cosijoeza, who appointed other ambassadors bring- 
ing the total up to twelve. He instructed the twelve fully and 
delivered into their keeping a gift from Cortez. 

Leaving Zaachila they journeyed to Tenochtitlan and 
solicited audience of the Spanish captain who, learning from 
whence they came, admitted them forthwith, receiving them 
with a show of great cordiality. 



THE MOUNTAIN CATS 259 

The leader of the embassy opened the conversation, speak- 
ing to the following effect: "Mighty lord, in the names of the 
rulers of Zaachila and Tehuantepec, also mighty, come I and 
my companions to offer unto you their persons, their subjects, 
and their kingdoms ; and at the same time that which is of still 
greater value, their friendship loyal and enduring, if you will 
be pleased to receive it, even in the same spirit as that in which 
I now offer you this gift of jewels and gold, which out of 
their good will they send you." 

Cortez was greatly pleased, not only with the rich gifts 
which they laid at his feet, but even more with the homage 
of their principals. 

"Brave Zapotecs," he said, "I receive the homage tendered 
by your masters as representative of the king of Spain, whom 
all should recognize as lord. As for me, I am but his mes- 
senger sent to make known to the peoples of this land the 
true God of Heaven and Earth. You will tell my good friends 
that I shall acquaint my king with their submission and good 
will and that they may expect of his goodness great recom- 
pense, as they shall shortly see. In the meantime," he added, 
"you will please convey to them my most cordial greetings." 

He then presented each member of the embassy with a 
rosary of glass beads and solemnly committing to their keeping 
some equally worthless trinkets to be delivered to the lords of 
Zapoteca, dismissed them ; and they returned to their country, 
their souls filled with great wonder at the forms, costume, 
arms and horses of the Castilians. 

Moctezuma, who learned through Cortez of the pledges 
of friendship which the embassy had offered him, was greatly 
angered at the news, for he had hoped that they and the Taras- 
xans, the two most powerful independent peoples, would lend 
aid to save the situation in Anahuac, compromised through 
his weakness. 



260 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Meanwhile Cosijoeza was having his own share of trouble 
with the Mountain Cats. The action of Cosijoeza and Cosijopii, 
abdicating in favor of the king of Spain the thrones which 
they had until then occupied with so great fame, produced in 
the Mixtecs profound misgivings, for they viewed all friend- 
ship with the foreigners with dismay. "There are no two 
ways about it," they declared, "it is unbecoming and unworthy 
of a ruler to ask aught of these adventurers who are trying 
to subjugate the land." 

These just and patriotic considerations as well as the con- 
tempt with which Cosijoeza viewed the Mixtecs who had lent 
him such timely assistance at Quiengola, of which the invasion 
of Cuilapan was proof sufficient, moved them to sever every 
bond of friendship and, taught by experience and having had 
time to prepare their offensive, they hastened to make an end 
of the war. 

The people of Cuilapan reinforced by contingents from 
the other members of the league took the initiative and attack- 
ed the Zapotecs in their own positions, which were one by one 
taken by main force. The capital, Zaachila, was next besieged 
and taken and Cosijoeza was compelled to flee for refuge to 
the mountain now called the Breast of Maria Sanchez, situated 
near Santa Ana Zegache. From that point he issued urgent 
orders to the chiefs who recognized his authority, and in par- 
ticular to the chief of Magdalena Mixtepec, to come to his 
aid in all haste with men and munitions of war. 

The Mixtecs were in the meantime engaged in re-establish- 
ing order in Zaachila and in conquering the towns of the north- 
em part of the valley, as far as Huayapan. These operations 
finished they turned toward the last place of refuge of Cosi- 
joeza, to which they laid siege with such vigor that his position 



i 



THE MOUNTAIN CATS 261 

became critical in the extreme. By this time the conflagra- 
tion extended westwardly unto Chichicapan and in a southerly 
direction to what is now San Martin Lachilaa. 

But the vengeance of the Mixtecs was still unsated. Not 
satisfied with these triumphs they sent a message to the king 
of Tututepec, a member of the Mixtec league who dwelt in the 
extreme southwest, bidding him march from his capital toward 
the coasts of Tehuantepec, distracting Cosijopii upon that side 
so as to prevent him from marching with reinforcements to 
the assistance of his father. This King Casandoo at once 
did, dispatching four regiments under the command of an able 
captain. 

The territories of Cosijopii, who had kept the peace for 
three years and had until then been feared and respected by 
his neighbors, were again and again ravaged by the Mixtecs. 
The bonfires of the enemy blazed on every hill, their war songs 
were heard in the distance, cruel and impious war raged 
throughout the southern part of the kingdom, and Cosijopii 
was enveloped by the storm. The somber prediction pro- 
nounced at his birth began to bear fruit and the destruction of 
an entire battalion which had been posted on the frontier 
seemed to verify it beyond doubt. 

This reverse and the critical situation of his father, of 
which a courier had just brought him word, served but to fire 
his valor. He collected a strong army and set out from Te- 
huantepec to relieve Cosijoeza; but he was detained in his 
march, for Casandoo had defeated the warriors of Miahuatlan 
at Dannixene, Guinas, and Tinagole and was prepared to at- 
tack Cosijopii if he came to their relief. 

In view of the attitude of the Mixtecs, Cosijopii deter- 
mined to act on the defensive. He threw forces into Quiengola 
and Quiengolani and immediately sent a messenger with a 
present of gold to Cortez, advising him that in consequence 



262 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

of the pact of friendship which he had made with him he had 
been attacked by Casandoo and was unable to withstand him ; 
that his father was besieged by the Mixtecs for the same rea- 
son ; and that to save the situation it was necessary that the 
Spaniards send troops at once. If this were done they might 
by combining their forces save the kingdom from destruction. 
This action on the part of Cosijopii changed the face of 
the Mixtec-Zapotec war and to it was due the fact that the 
mountain of Maria Sanchez was not the tomb of that crafty 
old fox, Cosijoeza. 

Now Cortez was a man ever faithful to those who were 
faithful to him, and no sooner had he received the messenger 
from the king of Tehuantepec and learned of him the evil 
plight of Cosijoeza than he ordered Francisco de Orozco to 
proceed to the Valley of Oaxaca and establish peace between 
the Mixtecs and Zapotecs. 

Orozco accordingly left Coyoacan on October 30, 1521,with 
thirty horsemen, eighty Spanish infantry, and a great number 
of Indian auxiliaries and proceeded towards the country of the 
Mixtecs. He entered their territories on the Sixth of Novem- 
ber and fought three severe engagements in which many were 
slain on both sides. In the end he succeeded in forcing a pas- 
sage of the San Antonio River and penetrated to the Valley 
of Oaxaca. 

On November 25, 1521, the Spanish expeditionary torce 
occupied the site of the present town of Santa Anita, situated 
on the right bank of the Atoyac and the slope of Monte Alban, 
Here, beneath a huaje tree (acacia sculenta) the first mass 
was said by Father Juan Diaz.* 

*At the place where this tree stood there was erected about 1826 the 
hermitage of Our Lady of Remedies, adjoining the national highway and 
at a short distance from Garita de Xoxo. 



THE MOUNTAIN CATS 263 

In later times the Catholic clergy were accustomed to 
celebrate this great event annually at the church of San Juan 
de Dios, anciently called Santa Catarina. This church having 
been destroyed by an earthquake on December 31, 1603, the 
chapter arranged that thereafter the festival should be held 
on July 8, the octave of San Marcial, at the church of the 
Merciful. After vespers the religious formed in procession 
and the gentry of the neighborhood all appeared mounted, but 
upon reaching the gate of the cemetery they dismounted and 
entered the church in order of precedence, and there they re- 
mained until Ave or six o'clock in the afternoon witnessing the 
ceremonies of the occasion. 

The following morning the civil and ecclesiastical func- 
tionaries, notables, and a great multitude of the people at- 
tended mass, and after the service they marched in solemn 
procession, bearing at the front an ancient banner, the royal 
standard bestowed, as some said, upon the city as a mark of 
royal favor, or won, according to others, by the Conquistador. 

But we have wandered from our subject. The garrison of 
Huaxyacac, which was not thought strong enough to with- 
stand the enemy, withdrew to Peholes where it made common 
cause with the Mixtecs, retiring into the fortress of Ixcuin- 
tepec, a rock surrounded by a stone wall of more than a league 
in circuit. 

The place being thus abandoned, Orbzco and Juan Nunez 
del Mercado occupied Guazaca (as they called Huaxyacac), a 
civil government was instituted, Gutierrez He Badajoz who 
accompanied the expedition with others of the town of Segura 
de la Frontera, now Tepeaca, State of Puebla, being appointed 
alcalde of Huaxyacac, rechristened Villa de Segura de la 
Frontera. 



264 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND | 

Cortez directed this step from his residence at Coyoacan. 
It was the beginning of the Spanish city, at first called Ante- 
quera, afterwards Guaxaca, and finally corrupted into Oaxaca. | 

As soon as Orozco had made himself master of Huaxyacac 
he sent word to the Mixtecs and Zapotecs, commanding them 
to cease hostilities. "Have done with your strife," ran the 
mandate, "since your territories belong to the king of Spain 
who is lord of the whole land and who in future you must re- 
spect and obey." 

The Mixtecs were deeply offended at this, which they con- 
sidered an act of gross impertinence, but they were a wise 
people and abstained from committing themselves to an open 
breach with the Spaniard. They refrained from attacking 
him but endeavored to justify their conduct, alleging that to 
retire meant the loss of their conquests and the opportunity 
of avenging themselves upon Cosijoeza; and that, on the other 
hand that king, the siege abandoned, would unite his forces 
with those already on the road to relieve him and would then 
overrun their territories. They added that they were very 
loath to withdraw because they would then be charged with 
weakness and cowardice. 

But Cosijoeza being the ally of Cortez these objections 
had no weight with Orozco, who threatened to make war upon 
the Mixtecs unless they complied with his demands. This 
threat accomplished its immediate purpose, the cessation of 
hostilities. An armistice, however, and not a permanent peace, 
was the result. 



Chapter XIX. 
PRINCESS GREAT-SOUL. 

BUT the Mixtecs would by no means yield Monte Alban, 
the continued possession of which they deemed essen- 
tial to their safety. Since they distrusted Cosijoeza 
whose subtle policy had so often taken them by surprise, so 
that they had more than once been the victims of his stra- 
tagems, they demanded of him a pledge that the Zapotecs 
would refrain from attempting to retake the fortifications on 
Monte Alban. 

"Let the Princess Donaji* be given as a hostage to the 
people of Cuilapan," they said, "and let her life be the forfeit 
if her father fail in his promises." 

Seeing no other way out of the difficulty, Cosijoeza con- 
sented to this and sent the princess to the Mixtec camp where 
she was received with the honor due her rank and remained in 
pledge of peace. 

The Mixtecs then raised the siege and Cosijoeza was set 
at liberty. He was not long in conferring with Orozco and 
as a result sent forces to succor Miahuatlan and orders to 
Cosijopii to move upon Zaachila, taking the Quiechapa road, 
to assist in the military operations of that district. 

As soon as Casandoo learned of this he retired to Tutu- 
tepee and prepared to defend the integrity of his dominions, 
threatened from the Valley by the Spaniards. The impregna- 
ble rock of Ixcuitepec guarded his frontier. Orozco attempted 
its reduction, but finding that it could not be taken by force of 

♦Great Soul. 

265 



266 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

arms permitted its defenders to send a delegation to Cortez 
to treat with him and another to the king of Achiutla for in- 
structions. The former returned shortly with bad news : The 
Aztecs were conquered; Cortez would grant peace. 

Dzahuindanda advised by his priests thereupon ordered 
the Mixtecs to surrender to Orozco, informing him that they 
did so because it was the will of the gods, who judged the fur- 
ther shedding of blood to be useless. Whereupon all returned 
to their home, contented, the Mixtecs retaining their positions 
and the Mexicans remaining in possession of Huaxyacac, 
Tepeaca, Jalatco, Xochimilco, the Marquesate, Mexicapan, and 
San Juan Chapultepec. Some four thousand persons who had 
come with the Spaniards were united with the former colony 
at Huaxyacac, forming the foundation upon which was erected 
the new municipality of Segura de la Frontera. 

In the meantime Father Juan Diaz was busily engaged in 
baptizing many Indians of both races, among them the Prin- 
cess Donaji who was baptized under the name of Doria Juana. 
The Indians regarded this as merely a political function indi- 
cative of subjection to the Spaniard. That they had no idea 
of its religious significance will appear later. 

"My lord," said Alarii to Cosijopii, "last night I saw the 
soft golden light of a fire on the summit of Mount Quiengola, 
and surely thou knowest that this betokens misfortune." 

"Let it be even as the gods will," responded the king with 
resignation, "for they dispose of the great of this Earth as 
the fishermen of Roaloo set their nets in that beautiful lake. 
Alarii," he continued, placing his hand upon the minister's 
shoulder, "let us act as does the brook of the mountain glen, 
running straight where there is no impediment and making a 
turn when necessary, yet ever without complaining." 



PRINCESS GREAT SOUL 267 

Then Alarii spoke openly : "A messenger has just arrived 
from Zaachila. He is the bearer of evil tidings." 

"Let him enter that we may hear the story from his own 
lips," replied the king. 

"Noble lord," said the courier, "our people have bowed 
the head to the Castilian. Your father Cosijoeza, driven out 
of Zaachila by the Mixtecs, has been compelled by circum- 
stance to enter into a humiliating alliance with the stranger; 
humiliating since he loses his throne, already abdicated in 
favor of an unknown king, and is now stripped of his prero- 
gatives. Only at this price has he been able to save his life 
and the lives of the members of the royal family. The proud 
warrior of the Valley and conqueror of the Aztecs is no longer 
the father of his people but the miserable slave of that monarch 
whom the strangers call Charles the Fifth." 

"He has spoken," said Alarii bowing low before the young 
king. 

"I was born to misfortune, my dear friend," said the 
prince with resignation, "misfortune has followed me from 
the day of my birth. A voice of terror fills the heavens and 
the thunderbolt of desolation has wounded us unto death." 

"I have but informed you of your father's condition," 
said the messenger, "Permit me to complete my errand. He 
wishes you to dispatch a strong force to Quiechapa to succor 
the people of Miahuatlan and then move upon Zaachila to 
reinforce that point." 

"You will set out upon your return at once," the king 
replied, "and tell my father that I will tomorrow dispatch six 
batallions of one thousand men each to the Valley of Loolaa.* 
If he needs more than this number, you are authorized to take 
from them that are in Quiengolani, on the summit of the moun- 

*Oaxaca. 



268 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

tain. I will direct the commander there to place at your dis- 
posal such forces as you may require." 

December came. The little princess Donaji sat brooding 
in her unaccustomed confinement. Very gentle she seemed 
and little her captors dreamed of what was passing in her 
heart. She was the child of Cosijoeza and his heroic spirit 
burned within her bosom. "I am become a millstone about the 
neck of my people," she whispered to herself, "I am dragging 
them down to destruction. I must find a way to free them; 
yes, though it be at the sacrifice of my life." She still sat there 
very quietly, did little Donaji. 

Some nights later the princess discovered that the Mixtec 
guard was sleeping in heedless abandon and, ready to yield 
up her own life, if need be, that her countrymen might be 
free, sent a female attendant by stealth to the men of Zaachila 
with a message bidding them fall upon the enemy's camp with- 
out loss of time, for that the guard slept at their post. They 
at once apprised Cosijoeza of the situation, and he answered 
consenting to the attack provided every precaution were taken 
to rescue Donaji ; and thereupon they sent back word that they 
were about to attack, but that she must manage to make good 
her escape when a warning arrow was shot into her apartment. 

The signal of assault given, the Zapotecs assaulted the 
fortifications and made a great slaughter of their enemies. 
Taken completely by surprise, the latter wavered for the mo- 
ment, giving way before the superior numbers and resistless 
impetuosity of the assailants, and finally retired in order over 
the northern slopes of Monte Alban. 

The victors searched high and low but could find nothing 
of the princess. Finally one of the prisoners enlightened them. 
"She is not here," he said. "Upon an arrow penetrating her 
apartment, evidently shot on purpose by a skillful archer, she 



PRINCESS GREAT SOUL 269 

was hurried from the room by the captains who had her in 
charge. They took her with them and all chance of rescue is 
past, for they must have slain her ere this." 

And so in truth it befell. By the right bank of the Atoyac 
the Mixtec leaders met in council and decreed the death of 
Donaji for having violated the pact. And there they slew her, 
burying the body on the spot that the Zapotecs might not learn 
of her end. 

The two nations now seemed upon the eve of a general 
resumption of hostilities. Cosijoeza was at the point of attack- 
ing Cuilapan and the Mixtecs Zaachila, for both sides were 
strong and their mutual resentment was deep-seated; but 
Orozco intervened and they contented themselves with holding 
their old positions. 

Perhaps matters would have proceeded quickly to the 
shedding of blood had not the great lieutenant of Cortez, Pedro 
de Alvarado, arrived in time to remedy the situation. As soon 
as Alvarado reached Zaachila he established peace in such 
manner that the Mixtecs and Zapotecs laid aside their enmities 
forever. He then marched upon Tututepec and attacked 
Casandoo, the soul of the war, who was threatening by turns 
the valley of Loolaa and the kingdom of Tehuantepec. 

After a time, we are told, the Zapotecs discovered that 
the body of Princess Donaji had been buried at a point on the 
right bank of the Atoyac. They visited the spot. A blue lily 
grew from her blood. They removed it and opening the grave 
beheld the mortal remains of Donaji, but they marveled greatly 
on beholding the head lowered, the face turned to the east 
and somewhat inclined to the left, with the roots of the lily 



270 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

spread over the forehead and right temple. Thus she lay ap- 
parently sleeping, her body having been miraculously pre- 
served from putrefaction.* 

Rightly attributing this prodigy to the favor of the gods 
they left the remains as they found them, for they interpreted 
it as favorable to their destiny, making manifest that in the 
days to come the Zapotecs w^ould recover their power and the 
surrounding nations w^ould become subject unto them. 

The likeness of a woman's head appears in the coat of 
arms of the State of Oaxaca. It is the head of the little Za- 
potec heroine, Donaji, placed there by the state authorities 
in the year 1827. The children of Petela still make up the 
great bulk of the inhabitants of Oaxaca ; it is their state, and 
among its many noble women there is none to compare with 
little Great-Soul, who gave her life in the last attempt to pre- 
serve the independency of her people. The mysterious legend 
of her death was obtained by Manuel Gracida from the tradi- 
tion preserved by certain old residents of the Valley of Oaxaca, 
and accords with the prognostication made at her birth. 

*In Cuilapan is a sepulcher bearing this inscription: "Don Juan 
Agxilar — Dona Juana Cortez." The first is the Prince of Tilontongo, who 
was governor of the Zapotecs after the death of Cosijoeza; and the sec- 
ond is the Princess Donaji, whose remains we believe may have been re- 
moved to that tomb by the Dominican friars upon building the church. 
Tradition is silent on this point. 



Chapter XX. 
THE COMING OF ALVARADO. 

ALL glory be unto Allah most high, the Lord of the Day 
of Judgment. Unto him alone it pertaineth to de- 
cree destinies and to determine that which shall 
come to pass. Needs must thy servant recount how manifold 
evils befell the Land of Zapoteca, though it be not clear to 
mortal understanding wherefore the Arm of Might was not 
withholden. But who may question the counsels of the Most 
Compassionate? Inshallah! Such blasphemy is not permitted 
unto the true believer. Let us then proceed. 

I know not whether it was that old Casandoo was more 
turbulent than Dzahuindanda and Oconana, the other Mixtec 
kings, or if perchance he put less faith in the specious promises 
of the Castilian. Perhaps he was more patriotic than they. 
But in any event he waged incessant warfare against the Za- 
potecs and Spaniards, doing them all the harm in his power, 
regardless of consequences. 

As this ruler continued obstinate and utterly refused to 
recognize the Spanish authority, nothing remained but to 
bring him to reason by force of arms. Cortez accordingly 
directed Pedro de Alvarado to proceed to the conquest of 
Tututepec. 

This famous captain left Coyoacan on January 31, 1522, 
with 35 horsemen, 180 Spanish infantry, and more than 5,000 
Mexican auxiliaries under Ixtlilxochil. He reached Huaxyacac 
about February 20 and remained six days at that city and 
Zaachila. During this time the forces from Tehuantepec 

271 



272 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

which Cosijopii had dispc^tched to the succor of Miahuatlan 
appeared and presented themselves before Cosijoeza. 

In the meantime Alvarado, with the assistance of the wise 
and prudent P^ather Olmedo, consoHdated the peace between 
the Zapotecs and Mixtecs with such success that the two 
peoples forgot their animosities and became good friends as 
of yore. The combined commands of Orozco and Alvarado 
made up a force of 80 horse, 200 Spanish infantry, and 5,000 
Mexicans, which, united to 10,000 Zapotecs placed by Cosi- 
joeza at their command, gave them 15,280 men; with which 
army Alvarado set out from Huaxyacac (then Segura de la 
Frontera) on the twenty-sixth of February in the direction of 
Coatlan, marching by the way of the great valley. 

After three or four engagements with the southern Mix- 
tecs, who were dispersed without any great difficulty, on the 
fourth of March Alvarado discried Tututepec in the distance. 

Casandoo fought stubbornly against him. Seeing that 
further resistance was useless and bearing in mind the old 
adage that discretion is the better part of valor, he decided 
upon a complete reversal of policy. He went forth with the 
principal men of his court to meet the conqueror, whom he 
conducted to his palace, and in that palace, spacious and beau- 
tiful, the Spaniard and his soldiers were entertained with the 
utmost hospitality. We shall see in what manner Alvarado 
repaid the king's kindness. 

A few days after they entered the city Olmedo pointed 
out to Alvarado that since the roof of the royal palace, like 
those of the adjoining buildings, was covered with thatch, 
they ran great risk that the inhabitants, being still hostile, 
might set fire to the whole neighborhood as soon as the Span- 
iards relaxed their vigilance. 

"By this means," he said, "they can by enveloping us in 



THE COMING OF ALVARADO 273 

flames fight us successfully. In such an emergency our cavalry 
would be useless since the town is situated on broken ground. 
I have for some time been studying the situation carefully 
and have already found a safe position just outside the town, 
to which he had best withdraw." 

Alvarado heeded this timely advice and, commending the 
priest for his zeal, removed with his troops to the site fixed 
upon. 

The honest old king followed him to his camp, and sup- 
posing that Alvarado had been won over by his kindness and 
was about to retire from his dominions, presented him with 
a substantial gift of gold, pearls, and precious stones, and 
at the same time provided him with abundance of provisions. 

This generosity was the ruin of Casandoo, who was 
ignorant not only of the real cause for the withdrawal of the 
Spaniards from the city but — a more fatal ignorance — of the 
character of the Spanish leader. 

For the cupidity of Alvarado was awakened by this gift. 
He demanded greater and ever greater sums of the king, who 
made him daily gifts. Indeed, the thirst of this "illustrious 
and Christian" conqueror reached such a pass that, notwith- 
standing what he had already secured, he ordered the king 
to have his goldsmiths make for him stirrups of gold similar 
to the wooden ones which he possessed. Marvelous as it may 
seem, this was done. He next directed them to make a chain 
of gold for his horse and the king delivered it without delay, 
for the Indians handled gold as though it were clay or wax. 

His greed still unsatisfied, Alvarado demanded more gold 
and the king, whose treasures were now exhausted, was un- 
able to comply. Vexed at his refusal the unscrupulous ad- 
venturer charged the honest Casandoo with having formed a 



274 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

conspiracy to burn the palace that the Spaniards might per- 
ish in the flames. 

The king, who would have considered such an act deroga- 
tory to the honor of the lord of Tututepec, protested and 
vigorously maintained his innocence. But it is folly to plead 
with the unscrupulous when he has one at his mercy. Alva- 
rado not only would not listen but on the contrary, treating 
Casandoo with studied contempt, ordered him to l^e placed 
in irons and imprisoned until he turned over his royal 
treasures. 

Ixtlilxochil asserts that he suggested and advised this act 
of treachery, while Bemal Diaz says that the Zapotecs insti- 
gated it through hatred of the Mixtecs. But who will rely 
on the testimony of the former? and as for Diaz, he speaks 
from hearsay. Gracida thinks the whole matter a gratuitous 
invention of Father Olmedo which Alvarado turned to his 
own account to obtain the king's treasure, with which view 
I coincide. 

Neither the king's innocence nor his treasures, of the 
value of thirty-six thousand pesos, sufficed to liberate him 
from prison. Fretting under this unaccustomed usage, his 
health failed. Father Olmedo attempted to console him in his 
misfortune, but his soft words availed not to stay the fatal 
hour and in a few days he died of rage and despair. 

Upon his death the royal prerogative descended to his 
son who, being in Alvarado's power, suffered even greater 
despoliation than his father. 

Cortez, learning that Tututepec was the center of a rich 
and populous district and fearing that the disaffected Mixtecs 
might rise in revolt, thought it best to establish a colony 
at that point. He accordingly directed Badajoz to transfer 



I 



THE COMING OF ALVARADO 275 



the corporation of Segura de la Frontera from Huaxyacac to 
Tututepec. This was done. In March, 1522, Badajoz left 
Huaxyacac with all the members of the colony. Arriving at 
Tututepec he immediately set about apportioning lands among 
the colonists, whom he continued to govern as alcalde. 

This disposition of Cortez who had in view the reserva- 
tion for himself of a rich district, for the time being furthered 
the plans of Alvarado who, being in authority in a hostile 
land, could practice every sort of extortion while widows 
mourned the disappearance of their husbands and orphans 
the loss of their parents. 

Utterly licentious and selfish, he came very near perish- 
ing at the hands of his own men. The Spanish soldiers, with 
equal will but lacking his special means of enforcing com- 
pliance, following his example had tried, but with indifferent 
success, to enrich themselves. "If the captain puts the lead- 
ing Indians in the cannon's mouth to force them to give up 
their gold, and kills them," they reasoned, "as he has done 
with many who failed to yield, so let us also be diligent, since 
he pays us so illy." They robbed but obtained so little that 
they became the more infuriated against Alvarado, who had 
taken what in their opinion belonged of right to them. 

The disaffection spread and it was not long before a plot 
was formed to make away with Alvarado ; but it failed because 
one of the conspirators, the soldier Trebejo, revealed the con- 
spiracy to Father Olmedo. 

The priest informed Alvarado of the plot. As he was 
hunting at the time with certain of the conspirators he dis- 
sembled and, pretending to be taken by a sudden pain in the 
side, returned to his dwelling. From thence by means of the 
alcaldes, constables, and his brothers Gonzalo and Jorge he 
apprehended the ringleaders of the conspiracy, two of whom 



276 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

were hung, receiving the consolations of religion from the 
same Father Olmedo who had betrayed them. 



The conspiracy of Tututepec nipped in the bud, Alvarado 
prepared to proceed against the Chontals. These Indians, 
a race totally distinct from Mixtec and Zapotec, occupied an 
enclave in the Zapotec country stretching from the seacoast 
northward toward Miahuatlan; their principal cities being 
Aztata and Huamelula. They had shown hostility toward a 
party of Spaniards sent out to explore the coast lands, stoning 
some of them at Aztata and compelling the remainder to beat 
a hasty retreat to save their lives. Angered at this, Alvarado 
set out from Tututepec on April 2, 1522, accompanied by the 
son of King Casandoo and his allies, proceeding by the way of 
the coast. Passing by Tonameca he learned that the ruler of 
that place was rich, and upon the pretext that he had not 
recognized the Spanish authority commanded him to be seized 
and imprisoned together with certain of his leading men. 
Three days later they obtained their liberty at the price of 
much gold and pearls. 

From this point he continued his journey to Pochutla. 
Thence he descended to the coast and after reconnoitering the 
littoral directed his march toward Huatulco, a Chontal town 
which at first threatened hostilities but presently yielded and 
opened its gates. On April 12 he continued his march through 
the south of the Chontal country where the Indians offered 
some resistance. Defeated by the Spaniards they reconcen- 
trated in the mountains. 

Four days later Alvarado reached Aztata and proceeded 
to wreak vengeance upon the place for the ill manner in which 
they had received the Spaniards, killing some and robbing 
others of their gold. From Aztata he passed on to Huamelula 



THE COMING OF ALVARADO 277 

which submitted without having made any great resistance, 
and here he was met by envoys from Cosijopii, with whom 
he departed for Quiengola. He made that fortress his head- 
quarters until the twenty-third of the month, exploring that 
portion of the country and, the exploration concluded, set out 
for Tehuantepec. 

On the following day he drew near the royal city. Cosi- 
jopii awaited him in his palace. Alvarado entered Tehuan- 
tepec and saluted the king in these words : 

"Intrepid prince, rather as a friend than as the conqueror 
of this beautiful realm, I come in the name of my commander 
Hernando Cortez and of the great emperor to offer you their 
protection and tender you their generous friendship. Your 
father the great lord of Zaachila, may he live forever, has 
accepted this offer and has become our friend and colleague. 
This is well known to you, and I trust you will not lose the 
opportunity of taking this occasion to become our friend and 
the subject of the Emperor Charles V." 

Cosijopii was far from being deceived by these beguiling 
words, for he had heard much of Alvarado's conduct at Tutu- 
tepec and among the Chontals, but he concealed his feelings. 
"I appreciate your offer, illustrious captain," he answered, 
diplomatically, "and since the gods have permitted the visita- 
tion of our realm by such illustrious guests they shall be re- 
ceived in a befitting manner. We repose the utmost confi- 
dence in your knightly offers and bid you a hearty welcome 
to our city." 

The Spanish leader bowed in token of a humility which 
he was far from feeling and the king continued: "Here near 
my dwelling, captain, I have caused quarters to be prepared 
for your accommodation, and there," pointing to another 



278 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

building at some distance, "are those of your forces. My min- 
ister Alarii will conduct you to them. Take possession and 
enjoy the repose which you so richly merit." 'Thanks, my 
lord," Alvarado replied, and entered his lodging full of the 
confidence born of finding himself at last quartered within 
the walls of a friendly city. 

Alvarado pursued the same course with the kings of 
Zaachila and Tehuantepec as his superior, Cortez, had pur- 
sued toward the Aztec emperor; the same dissimulation, per- 
fidy, and secret deceit. Cosijopii was not slow in imitation, 
meeting deceit with deceit. It availed him not and served in 
the end but to bring about his complete downfall. 

Alvarado was greatly pleased with the city, as everyone 
has been who has ever had the good fortune to visit it, and 
rechristened it Guadalcazar because of the beautiful river on 
whose banks it stood. But the name did not persist and the 
place is still known by its Aztec name of Tehuantepec,* though 
the inhabitants prefer the Zapotec name Guisi. 

Three days after the arrival of Alvarado, the king ad- 
dressed his minister upon the subject nearest their hearts. 
"I perceive, Alarii," he said, "that you are in gi-eat anguish 
of soul. Have courage ; for the present we are in the enemy's 
hands and can do nothing. Listen. Distrustful as to what 
the future might have in store for us, last night I went secretly 
to consult Pezelao for the last time. As is the custom on such 
occasions, I vested myself in the double robes of royalty and 
the priestly office. I made the journey alone and, as our rite 
directs, to the temple of Monapoxtiac. At the portal I ex- 

*It is a curious circumstance that practically all towns in the Zapotec 
territory bear Aztec names; thus, Miahuatlan, Juchitan, bctaltepec, Nil- 
tepec, Huilotepec, Ocatlan. Was the land once completely dominated by 
the Aztec power, or were the names first applied by Aztec colonists com- 
ing' in the wake of the Spaniard? 



THE COMING OF ALVARADO 279 

tinguished my torch and put off my sandals. Complete dark- 
ness enveloped me. No sound was heard save that made by 
the waves of the lagoon dashing against the foundation of 
the edifice and the low mutterings of the guardians of the 
sanctuary. I invoked the presence of the Oracle of Heaven, 
rapping three times with the sacred rod, I consulted the god 
and in a sad voice he responded: 'Thy empire is at an end 
as I have already told thee, and with it the religion of thy 
forefathers.' He spoke no more." 

"Break then the arrows of our warriors," said the aged 
counselor in despair, "and may the robes of our seers and 
the flutes of our priests be consigned to the flames that are to 
consume and destroy our race." 

But Cosijopii was younger and hope died less easily in 
his heart. He reassured his minister and before dismissing 
him gave instructions as well for the security of the kingdom 
as for the hospitable care of the Spaniards. 

About this time the lord of Jalapa, in whose keeping the 
sons of Cosijopii had been placed, refused to recognize the 
king's authority. The latter to avoid civil war took the 
matter up with Alvarado, giving him ten measures of gold 
upon condition that he capture the offender and bring him 
before him for punishment. Alvarado, upon whom the sight 
of gold had a magical effect, told Cosijopii to have no fear as 
he would see that the matter was properly attended to. 

In referring to this incident the enemies of Alvarado 
state that the king led him into a room filled with great store 
of gold, sliver, jewels, precious stones, and elegant feather- 
work, telling him that he might choose whatever he liked, 
and that the captain took ten measures of the best. Seeing 
the good effect produced by the gold Cosijopii promised him 
more when the lord of Jalapa was delivered. 



280 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Alvarado was never long in hitting upon an excuse to 
justify the greatest villainy; nor was he in this instance. He 
suddenly bethought himself that his intended victim had failed 
to go through the form of rendering obeisance to him and 
thereupon, notwithstanding that he had committed no act 
of hostility, ordered him to attend upon him with the chief 
men of Jalapa that he might be reprimanded for his conduct. 

Fearing perfidy the lord did not respond to the summons. 
Whereupon to enforce obedience Alvarado set out from Te- 
huantepec for Jalapa with his Spaniards and 24,000 warriors 
whom Cosijopii had placed subject to his orders. 

He reached Jalapa and, greedy for plunder, ordered the 
recalcitrant lord and his brother and sister to be brought 
before him. Upon their answering the summons he received 
them with austerity and after his manner in such cases con- 
fronted them with trumped up charges. Their protestations 
of innocence were unheeded by Alvarado who finally said: 
"Make me a substantial present of gold to show the goodness 
of your hearts, and I will dismiss you without punishment." 

They denied possessing any treasure and he then ordered 
that the two men be put to the torture ; the while remaining 
himself with the lady for objects purely personal. The accused 
in the end escaped torture by complying with their tormen- 
tor's request for gold. 

Neither caring to set the men at liberty nor to take them 
with him to Tehuantepec, he banished them to Mexico, placing 
them in charge of Ramon Lopez and three other Spaniards. 
They started for Mexico with their prisoners but before 
reaching Tequisistlan were attacked by a party of Chontals 
who freed the prisoners and slew one of the Spaniards. The 
prisoners fled for Jalapa, which had in the meantime been 



THE COMING OF ALVARADO 281 

evacuated by Alvarado, while the three remaining Spaniards 
made their way back to Tehuantepec. 

The people of Jalapa, enraged at the conduct of this 
scoundrel who was pleased to style himself the friend of the 
Zapotecs, now rose in revolt. As soon as Alvarado learned 
of this he returned against Jalapa which was taken after 
some fighting. Master of the place, he ordered a general 
massacre and consigned the city to the flames. Many were 
slain, his enemies placing the number at twenty thousand 
souls; but this figure seems incredible. 

After these events Alvarado departed with his cavalry 
for Tequisistlan to avenge the death of his countryman. He 
found the Chontal Indians strongly fortified, the body of 
their troops being hidden in a thicket on the outskirts of 
which a detachment deployed for the purpose of attracting 
the Spaniards towards the ambuscade and finishing with them. 

Alvarado drew his forces up in line of battle. He recon- 
noitered the position and fearing a surprise resolved to await 
the arrival of his infantry before beginning the attack. But 
he was not permitted to wait, for the Indians of the detach- 
ment understanding well the impression which their strong 
position had made upon the Spanish leader waited not, but 
fell upon the cavalry. Early in the engagement Alvarado was 
struck in the forehead by an arrow which endangered his 
life, and presently the Spaniards began to give way, over- 
powered by superior numbers. But at this critical moment 
the infantry arrived and surrounded the Chontals. 

It seemed now but a matter of minutes when the brave 
little band of Chontals would be wiped out, when suddenly 
the main body of their countrymen, who until then had re- 
mained hidden in the woods, emerged and with wild shouts of 



282 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

rage fell upon the enemy. A state of indescribable confusion 
ensued while Chontal and Spaniard met in hand to hand en- 
gagement. More than once the Chontals beat back the enemy ; 
but in the end the superior arms and discipline of the Cas- 
tilians prevailed. The Chontal leader was made prisoner and 
his warriors were dispersed, leaving the field covered with 
the slain. 

Alvarado was not the only Spaniard to water the ground 
with his blood. Cristobal Flores, Garcia de Pilar, Gonzalo de 
Ojeda, and others came forth wounded from the battle which, 
although it went against the Chontals, did their bravery 
credit. After this last attempt the Chontals remained sub- 
ject to the Spanish authority. 

Alvarado returned to Tehuantepec with his prisoners. 
In passing Jalapa he pardoned the lord of that place, an act 
approved by Cosijopii who had himself already taken the same 
action. 

The brave Chontal leader paid with his life for the Span- 
ish blood which he had caused to be shed in defense of his 
country. The philosophic Alvarado naturally made no dis- 
tinction between traitor, spy, and the enemy taken in open 
combat. 

Now our Alvarado prided himself greatly upon being a 
good Christian, and his conduct as I have described it, O son 
of Abdullah, will serve to show thee, I trust, wherein the good 
Christian excels the miserable heathen. Well then, this good 
Christian and Father Olmedo, valuing at their true worth 
the talents and influence of Cosijopii, and realizing the ad- 
vantage to be gained by converting him to the Christian faith, 
set about the accomplishment of that worthy object. Why 
the captain did not resort to his usual argument, the sword, 



THE COMING OF ALVARADO 283 

is not entirely plain to me, but as a matter of fact he did not. 
His conscience seems to have been rather tender on this point. 
At any rate they depended on moral suasion alone. To their 
surprise the king readily embraced the faith. 

And thus it came to pass that on the seventeenth day 
after the entrance of the Spaniards into Tehuantepec, on June 
24, 1522, the baptism of Cosijopii was celebrated amidst salvos 
of artillery and the blare of trumpets. The diadem which 
until then had encircled his brows was discarded and in its 
place he wore a broad-brimmed hat turned up on the left side 
and adorned with a gallant blue plume. 

All this seemed very proper to the Spaniards but pro- 
duced a very different effect upon his people, whose hearts 
were filled with rage at beholding their king vested in Euro- 
pean dress and on hearing him accosted by his new name of 
Don Juan Cortez Cosijopii de Moctezuma. The countenances 
of the multitude darkened and the ominous words "traitor" 
and "coward" passed from mouth to mouth. Matters soon 
proceeded from bad to worse, the more violent plotting several 
times both to compass his destruction and to attack the 
Spaniards. 

In his extremity the king went to Alarii and told him all. 
The ancient minister, who had been following developments 
with a watchful eye, was ready with a plan. Cosijopii ap- 
proved and they immediately set about putting it into execu- 
tion. Alarii left at once for Monapoxtiac. 

When night fell the king and his beautiful wife Zetobaa, 
taking the San Bias road, followed after. Profound peace 
brooded over the summer plains and as the royal travelers 
pursued their way they found it hard to realize that the end 
of their rule was nigh at hand. As they reached the edge of 
the great lagoon a robust boatman emerged from the gloom. 



284 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Another moment and they were seated in his canoe. The pallid 
moon shone on the distant horizon, the dark waters of the 
lake were reflected in changing colors on the sides of the 
silent craft, and away in the distance the Heart of the King- 
dom reared her lofty head; an enormous rock illumined on 
one side by the last rays of the setting moon, holy Monapox- 
tiac, where dwelt the god of their hopes. 

The canoe bearing the royal pair reached the hallowed 
shore. They made their way up the steep ascent to the En- 
chanted Cave. In those silent precincts, in that cavern fra- 
grant with copal recently burned in honor of the god whose 
shrine it was, Alarii at the head of the priests and ancients 
awaited his master. He entered and all saluted him with 
reverence. 

"I have come to you," the king began, seating himself 
upon the throne which awaited him, ''to cast in your faces 
your injustice and ill-considered zeal for my person. True it 
is that I have submitted to baptism, but false are the motives 
which have been imputed to me. You, my people, should 
know me better. I have but submitted that I might the better 
conceal my real intentions from the eyes of our oppressors. 
Later, when circumstances permit, I will sound the alarm, 
call you to arms, and we will revindicate our honor, stained 
by the enemies of our country and our gods." 

The congregation bowed their heads in token of respect 
and adhesion and the king departed, leaving the leaders of 
the people satisfied. 

While Cosijopii busied himself with rearranging the ad- 
ministration of the kingdom in conformity with the new order 
of things, the conqueror spent his time in military expedi- 
tions, sometimes against the Chontals, passing by way of 



THE COMING OF ALVARADO 285 

Jalapa, and at other times against the towns of the Huaves; 
with the object of reducing all to the Spanish allegiance and 
filling his coffers with booty. 

As a reward for his services and to prevent further trou- 
ble between Cosijopii and the lord of Jalapa, Cortez gave 
Alavarado the following encomienda, which I give verbatim 
as throwing much light upon the manner in which the Cas- 
tilian dealt with Indians in those days. The document runs 
as follows: 

"Cedula depositing in trust with Pedro de Alvarado 
the towns of Tututepec and Jalapa and other towns — By 
these presents are entrusted to you, Pedro de Alvarado, a 
citizen of Villa de Segura de la Frontera, the lords and 
inhabitants of the town of Tututepec, with Quisquitale, 
Apichagua, Chacaltepeque, Centepeque, Teteltongo, and 
Chila, which are subject to it, and the lord and natives of 
Jalapa, that they may serve and aid you on your estates, 
agreeable to the ordinances which have been and may be 
made in this matter and with your oversight of the things 
which concern our holy Catholic faith, exercising in that 
behalf the care and vigilance possible and necessary. 
Dated, August 24, A. D. 1522. Hernando Cortez — By 
order of the great Captain, my lord — Alonzo de Vil- 
lanueva." 

Thus authorized, Alvarado designated a lieutenant to 
govern the town of Jalapa in his name and apportioned cer- 
tain towns amongst his principal friends, giving others allot- 
ments of land. Visiting Tututepec at a later date he chose 
for himself a beautiful property at Jamiltepec, now known as 
the Plain of the Widow. 

His presence on the Isthmus being no longer required, 
toward the end of September he started for Mexico accom- 
panied by Father Olmedo and the prince of Tututepec. 

Alvarado did not retain the encomienda for long, for 
Cortez, learning that it was of great value, took it from him. 
Tututepec alone had been yielding him fifty pesos daily. 



Chapter XXI. 
THE PASSING OF ZAACHILA. 

IN October of the year 1522 Queen Coyolica, mourning the 
death of her daughter the Princess Donaji, whom she 
loved greatly, sickened and died after an illness of seven 
days in her palace at Zaachila at the age of fifty-four years. 

This sad event caused profound sorrow at the court. The 
aged Cosijoeza wept like a child over the loss of his faithful 
companion. In his anguish he cried out before his friends: 
"Stricken down by fate she has gone to the other world, leav- 
ing us overwhelmed with sorrow and crushed beneath the heel 
of the oppressor." 

Her remains were laid away with all the pomp of the Za- 
potec ceremonial in the royal tomb called Zeetobaa. Coyolica 
had been a model of virtue and fidelity, her many acts of kind- 
ness had endeared her to the people of her adopted country, 
and it was many years before they ceased to mourn the loss 
of the good queen. 

While these events were transpiring in Didjazaa* trouble 
was brewing in the Tututepec colony of Segura de la Frontera. 
The colony did not prosper, partly because the natives of the 
place remained unreconciled to the new order of things and 
partly because the torrid climate sapped the vitality of the 
Spaniards and the Indians who had accompanied them from 
the high plateau. Finally the colonists met in council and, 

*Didjazaa: The country of the Zapotecs. 

286 



THE PASSING OF ZAACHILA 287 

all being in favor of abandoning the place, decided to return 
to Huaxyacac where living conditions were more suitable. 

The removal was effected in November, the colony re- 
turning under the leadership of its officers, Gutierrez de Ba- 
dajoz and Juan Nuilez Cedefio, to Tepeaca, a place adjacent 
to Huaxyacac, where they set about re-establishing the colony 
with enthusiasm. The climate of this locality was ideal and 
they were resolved to settle there and die in the place. 

As soon as Cortez was advised of the matter he ordered 
Diego de Ocampo to proceed as examining magistrate against 
the authors of this breach of authority. The judge made a 
thorough investigation and in the end sentenced them all to 
death; a penalty stayed only through the influence of Father 
Olmedo, who prevailed upon him to commute the sentence 
to banishment. 

Notwithstanding this the colony remained as founded, 
thanks to the accession of power of Gonzalo de Salazar and 
Pedro Almindez Chirinos in 1524. Before Cortez had been 
long absent from Mexico these men openly declared against 
him, ordering the colony repeopled and taking from him the 
principal Zapotec towns, which they declared patrimony of 
the Crown. In this they did well, for Cortez had appropriated 
to his own private use practically all the lands now embraced 
within the State of Oaxaca. 

Although Cortez upon his return to Mexico set diligently 
about the vindication of his rights he was unable to get the 
colony included in the marquisate which he obtained in July, 
1528. The vicissitudes through which Huaxyacac passed were 
brought to an end in the same year by an event of the greatest 
importance to the political life of the place. The emperor 
Charles V sent to the Audiencia of New Spain a cedula of 
date September 14, 1526, creating the place a royal villa. It 



288 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

is thought that he left the naming of the new villa to the 
Audiencia and that through the influence of one of the mem- 
bers it was named Antequera. 

The Audiencia sent the cedula to the alcalde, Don Juan 
Pelaez de Berrio, and the latter caused it to be published with 
all pomp on July 24, 1529. Later, on April 25, 1532, the em- 
peror by royal cedula signed at Medina del Campo raised the 
place to the rank of city. 

The withdrawal of the colony from Tututepec naturally 
weakened the Spanish power greatly in that district, but not- 
withstanding that the conquerors were now few in number 
they continued to oppress the Indians. This led to the Mixtec 
revolt of 1523. Their first and only act of vengeance is re- 
lated as follows : Learning that a party of some forty Span- 
iards was traveling by way of the coast they started in pur- 
suit of them and, falling suddenly upon them, made them pris- 
oners. After securely binding them they conducted them to 
a court encircled by an embattled wall of considerable height. 
More than two thousand Indians surrounded the enclosure 
and from a safe distance hurled in firebrands upon the Span- 
iards. Their unfortunate captives in attempting to escape were 
caught on the merlons of the battlements, upon which they 
left the bloody imprints of their hands as a testimony to their 
cruel fate. In the end they realized the impossibility of re- 
gaining their freedom and resigning themselves to their fate 
fell upon their knees, raised their eyes to heaven, and encour- 
aging one-another laid down their lives with Christian 
fortitude. 

When Cortez learned of the occurrence he directed Alva- 
rado to proceed for the second time against Tututepec. The 
latter entered upon a vigorous campaign against the rebellious 



THE PASSING OF ZAACHILA 289 

city, in the course of which great numbers of the Indians and 
not a few Spaniards were slain. Realizing that defeat was 
certain the Indians finally surrendered at discretion. After 
this the land remained pacified and the government of Tutu- 
tepee was entrusted to the son of King Casandoo, whom Alva- 
rado had taken with him to Mexico, Cortez wisely restoring 
him upon promise of loyalty. 

The Mixtecs of the south once more pacified, Alvarado 
returned to the Valley of Oaxaca where he was well received 
by the Zapotec lords and especially by King Cosijoeza, who 
lodged him in his palace and conferred rich gifts upon him. 

Profiting by the favorable opportunity thus afforded 
Father Olmedo set about the conversion of the king and his 
nobles. Cosijoeza to please him, and trusting in the future, 
outwardly embraced the Christian faith. According to the 
tradition he was baptized as Don Carlos Cosijoeza, many of 
the nobles and people following his example. 

After this event Alvarado returned to Mexico, well satis- 
fied that in assisting in securing the outward conversion of 
Cosijoeza he had washed away his own many sins. 

The fatal year 1529 witnessed the last of the glory of 
Zaachila. It was but eight years since the first appearance 
of the Castilians in the Valley of Oaxaca, but what a change 
those years had witnessed. The Spaniard, we are told, filled 
the land with rapine, robbery, and extermination. The native 
lords were powerless. Their power and glory were submerged 
by the waves of conquest and they could but wait f utilely for 
the day that should free the land from their oppressors. 

Prince Naatipa, the heir apparent, married, taking as 
his consort the beautiful Guielachi, daughter of Baaloo, lord 



290 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

of Tlacochahuaya. That he might add brilliancy to his wed- 
ding the prince invited Zapotecs and Spaniards alike. An im- 
mense crowd gathered at the house of Baaloo and the enter- 
tainment was magnificent. There was joy and good feeling 
without limit, and all rejoiced. 

But presently a commotion arose among the guests ; they 
seized their arms, they fought, and many Indians and some 
Spaniards were slain, among the first being the young prince, 
the hope of his race, who on the third day after his marriage 
was buried with great pomp by those M^ho had been invited to 
his wedding feast. 

Thus runs the current tradition but the actual facts are 
shrouded in mystery. Burgoa, the historian of Oaxaca, af- 
firms that the prince died of his extreme lasciviousness. Car- 
riedo follows him in this particular. But I adhere to Gracida's 
belief that he was purposely killed by the Spaniards, who were 
determined to remove the royal line of Zaachila from their 
path, cost what it might, that their dominion might be made 
secure; for the kings of Zaachila were the only ones who 
might have made war with any prospect of driving the in- 
vaders from Mexico. 

This sad event deeply affected Cosijoeza and the Zapotec 
nation, who were dumfounded at losing their future king in 
a manner so tragic. 

And now the end of Didjazaa was near, Cosijoeza, with- 
out the ascendancy of former times, shorn of the powers which 
he had inherited from his predecessors, old and full of sorrow 
because one by one he had seen the members of his family 
pass away, was stricken down at his palace in the year 1529 
at the age of seventy-two years. 

His last words were: "My subjects' faith in Heaven will 
resign them to bear the orphanage in which I leave them, and 
me to the peace of the future life." 



THE PASSING OF ZAACHILA 291 

His death was bewailed by all the Zapotecs, who saw the 
Zaachilan monarchy extinguished with the passing of this 
famous king, the honor of his race and the bulwark of its 
liberties. On the third day his funeral took place in conform- 
ity with the national rites. Very early in the morning the 
procession set forth for Mitla. A company of the royal guards 
led the way with a military band playing solemn strains in 
token of mourning. A multitude of functionaries and civil 
and judicial officials followed in the order of their rank ; and 
behind these a choir of singers, chanting poetical lamentations 
and recounting the achievements and wonderful exploits of 
the defunct monarch. After this came another band of music, 
and then the priests in their orders. Next came the nobility, 
taking precedence according to rank and bearing in their 
midst the body of the deceased king in a magnificent sedan 
chair. 

The dead potentate, sitting bolt upright, was dressed in 
his richest robes and adorned with precious jewels, necklaces 
of gold, and massy bracelets. On his arm he bore the shield 
and in his right hand the spear which he had carried in battle. 

The procession closed with more members of the royal 
household and another detachment of the bodyguard, followed 
by people from the city of all classes and conditions. 

At certain intervals along the way funeral fanes had been 
erected, at which the priests, halting the procession, celebrated 
the Office of the Dead. 

They reached Liobaa* and the highpriest, followed by 
the other religious, received the body and, conducting it with 
ceremonies and chants, placed it in the vault prepared for the 
purpose and left him buried in the pantheon of his forefathers. 

*The Zapotec name for Mitla. The word signifies, according to Bur- 
goa, "Place of Rest." It is believed that the correct rendering was Yoo- 
paa, "House of Burial." 



292 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Since by the death of Cosijoeza the throne of Zaachila 
was left without a legitimate claimant, for they could not 
elevate Cosijopii by reason of his having accepted the throne 
of Tehuantepec, the principal lords of the realm gathered in 
council to consider what might best suit their interests. A 
long and hot discussion followed. Some proposed the brother 
of Cosijoeza, while others contended that it was useless to elect 
a king since they already had a sovereign who neither regarded 
the ancient lords of the soil nor permitted them to exercise 
authority, and that thus it would be better to remain without 
a king who would be such in name only. 

After wavering for some time between these two opinions 
they finally came to decision, as men will in such cases, more 
to experiment in a strange case than to accept either plan pro- 
pounded with so much eloquence by the orators of the occasion. 

Recollecting the terms of friendship upon which they had 
always lived with Ocoiiana, king of Tilantongo, they chose as 
their ruler the second son of that Mixtec lord, Don Juan de 
Aguilar, who accepted the throne and entered upon the govern- 
ment of Didjazaa amid general satisfaction. But Spanish 
policy viewed all exercise of real authority by the native kings 
with disfavor, and as a consequence he was gradually stripped 
of his powers. In disgust, he abdicated the royal authority, 
which passed to the Zapotec chieftain, Don Luis de Velasco, 
heir in the direct line to the crown of Zaachila, and afterwards 
to Don Antonio, as governors of the Indians ; after which the 
office was suppressed and the realm became an integral part 
of the Spanish crown. 

After that the people of Zaachila wisely refrained from 
choosing a king. It is related that in 1672 the lineal descend- 



THE PASSING OF ZAACHILA 293 

ant of Cosijoeza in the fifth degree lived in a state of abject 
poverty, and Burgoa tells us that out of pity the convent was 
accustomed to pass him out a plate of food to keep him from 
starvation. 



Chapter XXII. 
THE FALL OF COSIJOPII. 

FOLLOWING the course agreed upon with his people 
Cosijopii had, from the very beginning of the preach- 
ing of the Gospel at Tehuantepec, pretended to be a 
most devout adherent of the Catholic faith which he had 
ostensibly embraced; so much so, in fact, that he actually 
bore the expense of constructing the church and convent of 
Santo Domingo in that city. 

From the year 1544 until the dedication of the church in 
1550 the fathers Gregorio Beteta and Bernardo of Albu- 
querque ceased not to praise the generous king who supplied 
their every want from his abundant resources and every- 
thing needed for the erection of the buildings. Even after it 
was finished he presented the church with many articles of 
value for its ornamentation and proper upkeep, for which 
Father Bernardo commended him publicly. 

But notwithstanding the favors which he had showered 
upon the church, its ministers, and the Spaniards generally, 
he was doomed to fall the victim of the one or the other. Let 
the reader read the history of his fall and decide which. It 
matters little. 

Now Cosijopii possessed through the tribute paid him 
great riches which he scattered with the utmost liberality 
among his people, and from this in great measure sprang 
his popularity and power. This the conquerors perceived and 
they determined to take the kingdom from him as the only 

294 



THE FALL OF COSIJOPII 295 

means whereby the flow of tribute into his coffers might be 
stayed. This was the source of his downfall. 

We must explain this matter of the tribute more fully. 
Cortez had left the king in the enjoyment of a part of his 
wealth, but the amount was barely sufficient to maintain his 
family and establishment, even in a manner which ill com- 
ported with his rank. Notwithstanding this the viceroys still 
further reduced his income to such an extent that it no longer 
sufficed to meet the ordinary expenditures. In fact, in 1555 
the Viceroy Luis de Velasco approved a decision made the 
year before by the Visitor of the Marquis of the Valley 
(Cotez), reducing Cosijopii's annual rents to one hundred 
pesos. 

This contemptible action, taken in utter disregard of the 
feelings of the friend and protector of the Spaniards, wounded 
Cosijopii deeply, but he resigned himself without a murmur, 
trusting that in the end his good works would be rewarded. 

Now the big-hearted Zapotecs could illy brook this treat- 
ment of their king. They were no longer legally obligated 
to pay tribute to him, for the tribute was imposed by the 
conquerors ; but when they beheld their king in such straight- 
ened circumstances their loyal hearts revolted, and rich and 
poor came flocking with their substance. This source of in- 
come, in its nature precarious, besides wounding the natural 
pride of the deposed monarch awakened anew the suspicions 
of the conquerors, who determined to make an end of him. 

The king's poverty compelled him finally to accept the 
gifts of his people but, well aware of the danger involved, 
he resorted to cunning, managing the matter with such cir- 
cumspection that for many years it remained a secret to the 
Spaniards. 



296 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

The constant intercourse of Cosijopii with his faithful 
people, for the greater part still idolatrous, kept alive the re- 
membrance of his past glory and led him to view his fallen 
state with secret chagrin. Such bitterness of spirit urged him 
toward that act of apostasy upon which an unforseen event 
determined him. 

Mitla having been occupied by the Spaniards, her priests 
were no longer able to exercise their functions at that sanctu- 
ary, and so it came to pass that they removed with their idols 
to Tehuantepec. The huijatoo, that is to say, the Great Watch- 
tower, the copabitoo or Guardians of the Gods, and the subord- 
inate ministers of the cult presented themselves at the palace 
and begged asylum of the king. Cosijopii was caught in a 
dilemma. While on the one hand he could not receive the 
old gods into his house without proving traitor to his bap- 
tismal vows, on the other hand his noble heart rebelled against 
the thought of casting out the old priests, once held in so great 
respect but now, alas, so unfortunate. 

After weighing the matter for some time he finally de- 
cided to receive them and directed that the idols be housed in 
a little frequented hall of the palace. There, at dead of night, 
surrounded by a number of the faithful who entered by 
stealth, the priests continued to offer the customary sacri- 
fices. Thus did Cosijopii apostatize. 

It seems wellnigh incredible, but these idolatrous prac- 
tices remained a secret for some years; nor would they have 
been discovered had it not been for the greed of a certain 
Spaniard. This individual had observed that Cosijopii fre- 
quently gave largess to the poor, from which he inferred that 
the king possessed secret sources of revenue. Now the king 
seldom shared his riches with the conquerors and the Spaniard 
realized that he himself had nothing to expect from his bounty. 



THE FALL OF COSIJOPII 297 

What he could not gain through the benevolence of the mon- 
arch he determined to achieve by craft and deceit. 

Keeping a close watch, the Spaniard was not long in 
ascertaining that many Indians stealthily congregated at night 
at the house of Cosijopii. Judging that the time had arrived 
to possess himself of a share of the royal treasure, he dressed 
himself in native costume, and sneaking along the darkest 
streets made his way toward the palace. He experienced no 
difficulty in gaining admission. His costume and perfect 
command of the Zapotecan tongue proved an open sesame, 
and he soon found himself mingling freely with the humble 
worshipers at the shrine of the forbidden gods. 

The hopes he had entertained were not realized, for he 
was unable to share in the liberalities of the king who was 
at the time dispensing gifts at some distance; but he wit- 
nessed the homage paid the ancient gods. 

Possessed of an important secret, the Spaniard thought 
that if he could but guard it his fortune was made; and in this 
he was right. But unfortunately for him, and still more so 
for Cosijopii, he was not the man to keep the secret; for his 
silence, being based upon interest and not upon principle, 
could not endure. And thus it came about that from certain 
hints which he let drop relative to the discovery which he had 
made, the vicar of the place, Friar Bernardo de Santa Maria, 
was led to entertain strong suspicions of the king's infidelity. 

Actuated by more honorable motives but with no less 
determination the priest set about unearthing the mysteries 
connected with the king's palace. Since it would have been 
impossible for him to gain admission without being recognized, 
he made use of the fiscal, an Indian much attached to him, 
whom he carefully instructed as to the precautions which he 
must take to avoid recognition. 



298 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

The fiscal, totally unconscious of the fact that he was 
about to play the part of traitor to his king and executioner 
of liberty of conscience, acceded to the friar's request. He 
went from the priest's house by night, entered the palace as 
one of the initiates, saw what took place in the secret cham- 
ber, and stealthily and swifty departing returned to the priest 
and told w^hat he had seen. 

Having secured the evidence against Cosijopii, P'ather 
Bernardo went straightway to the chief justice and addressed 
him in this wise: "I beseech your Honor's powerful assist- 
ance. The Church is in grave danger, for I have just dis- 
covered that King Cosijopii, besides that he continues to at- 
tend the ancient rites in the Enchanted Cave on Monapoxtiac, 
permits the meeting of Indians in his palace at night to offer 
up adoration to the heathen gods." 

"It is well," the justice gravely replied, "keep up the 
good work of unearthing this idolatry and you will earn a 
crown of glory in the world to come. I assure you my con- 
stables will not lose sight of the matter. Go without fear, my 
father, and trust in my zeal and efficiency to do whatever the 
service of God and our king requires." And the lawyer eyed 
the ecclesiastic narrowly as the latter took his departure. 

Friar Bernardo was far from being satisfied with the 
judge's assurance. It was evident to him that the judge had 
a wann spot in his hean for Cosijopii and that he looked 
upon infidelity with a tolerant eye. So the priest talked the 
matter over with the alcalde and they fixed upon a day to 
surprise Cosijopii in the verj- act. It would then be Impos- 
sible for anyone to shield him. 

A few days later the alcalde and vicar again met at the 
convent and with them various residents of Tehuantepec who 
were to attend as witnesses, and with an escort of armed 



THE FALL OF COSIJOPII 299 

men set out silently at the hour of midnight for the palace. 
They entered the great court without being seen. Recon- 
noitering the halls of the palace by the light issuing from cer- 
tain windows they discovered the place of worship. Gazing 
through the windows of the secret chamber they beheld what 
passed within. 

An idol surmounted a high altar illumined by the light of 
many torches. At its feet Cosijopii, clad in a robe of white 
and wearing a golden miter, performed the functions of 
highpriest. Acolytes (Vi janes) received from the worshipers 
the turkeys and other victims and carried them to the priests 
of Mitla, who at once decapitated them, dying their hands in 
their blood. Braziers and censers also burned, filling the 
hall with the fragrant odor of copal. 

Through the midst of the astonished natives the friar 
made his way, advancing with grave mien the full length of 
the hall. The altar reached, he and his companions turned 
and faced the assembly. The surprise was so great that no 
one thought either of resistance or flight. The alcalde con- 
ducted the six miserable priests to jail while Friar Bernardo 
spirited the king away to his convent. 

The priest gave his noble prisoner every care and atten- 
tion, nor could he have done less, for, besides other motives, 
he was moved by the most imperative considerations of grati- 
tude. Cosijopii had employed the remnants of his fortune 
in constructing the magnificent church and convent of Te- 
huantepec, the same convent in which he now found himself 
a prisoner. Long and earnestly the two discussed the mat- 
ter, the friar laboring to persuade the king to renounce his 
idols and admit his errors, and the king contending that as 
he had paid the tribute and shared his wealth with the Span- 
iards they ought to leave him in peace with the gods of his 
choice. 



300 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

The news that the king had been imprisoned spread like 
wildfire and caused great excitement among the Zapotecs. 
From distant parts of the kingdom contingents poured into 
the city and joining the inhabitants of the place threatened 
the Spanish power. The spirit of revolt spread rapidly. 

A few days after the arrest a great multitude gathered 
before the convent and with wild cries and menaces demanded 
the king's release. The Spanish residents were stricken with 
terror and the monks hurried about in great confusion, not 
knowing what to do. Every moment the situation grew^ more 
tense and all were persuaded that the scene would terminate 
in blood. 

In this extremity Friar Bernardo approached the king 
and begged him to calm the people, at the same time assur- 
ing him that, rather than set him at liberty, he was prepared 
to die at his side. The king listened patiently to the plea of 
him who had, through his own foolish attempt to bind the 
conscience of another, provoked the tumult, and then con- 
sented ; but before passing out to speak to the people he said : 

"Priest, I have been to my people a true father and they 
would not be my children if, seeing me yesterday king and 
today a miserable prisoner, they were not prepared to die in 
my defense. If I, once feared and respected by my neigh- 
bors, find myself treated like a very felon, what though I have 
yielded my throne to your king, what have my people to hope 
from you and yours ? But let us go. I will speak to my people 
and they will obey me and return to their homes." 

This just reproach failed to touch the bigoted heart of 
Friar Santa Maria who, full of joy at the success of his plea, 
went to communicate to the alcalde and monks the fact that 
Cosijopii had consented to address the people. They sur- 
rounded the king and led him forth to the court of the con- 



THE FALL OF COSIJOPII 301 

vent where most of the people were assembled. The latter, 
when they saw him, redoubled their menacing cries, at the 
same time manifesting their sorrow for the king by shrieks 
which moved even the hearts of his captors. 

The king lifted his hand and a hush fell upon the multi- 
tude. Repressing the anger in his heart he addressed them 
on this wise : "I well know the fidelity, gratitude, and love of 
my people and am satisfied there is no one among you who 
would knowingly aggravate my afi'liction. I have long since 
told you that the kingdoms of this land must come to an end 
with the arrival of certain strangers, to whose dominion we 
would be subjected. This was foretold by the powers above 
whom it is not lawful to resist. Now it has come to pass." 

"I desire to ease the burden of my misfortune, which has 
been softened through the goodness of these priests. You 
will not aid by your clamors; rather, if you commit excesses, 
my condition will be made worse and you yourselves will re- 
ceive chastisements which will add to my sufferings. Con- 
vinced that you love me, I charge you to submit to the new 
order of things and keep the peace." 

As soon as he had ceased speaking he returned to the 
monks and entered the convent, leaving the people sad but 
silent. 

The passions of the populace calmed, the friars set about 
convincing Cosijopii of his errors. The bishop, Bernardo 
de Albuquerque, an old friend of the prisoner, learned of the 
matter and without loss of time sent two religious commis- 
saries to Tehuantepec with the advice that in matters of this 
nature it was ever better to resort to charity than to invoke 
justice. 



302 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

The judges arrived and visited Cosijopii. They saluted 
him in a friendly manner and informed him of the commis- 
sion with which the bishop had entrusted them. After the 
reading of the charge the king said : 

"I except to the charge and interpose a challenge to your 
jurisdiction, upon the ground that I am both a friend of the 
bishop and a king of the land. The trial of my alleged crime 
pertains to the crown of Spain, to which I appeal my case." 

By this plea he freed himself from the ecclesiastical juris- 
diction which he rightly viewed with horror. Had he been 
able to penetrate the future he might have decided otherwise ; 
for as we shall see, he gained nothing by the appeal, and it is 
quite possible that the church would have strained a point in 
his favor. But this was withheld from his sight. 

The matter now passed to the Royal Audience. The 
authorities at Tehuantepec were instructed to produce Cosi- 
jopii to answer the charge and they so informed the king. 
He answered that he was prepared to see the case through to 
the bitter end. 

The next day the king set out for Mexico. As he passed 
through the cities and villages of the land over which he had 
ruled for so many years the populace received him with every 
mark of respect and love, offering their persons and wealth to 
save him, for he was the idol of their hearts. The Spaniards 
also greeted him with respect, not merely on account of his 
noble descent, but also because of his true worth, demonstrated 
on many an occasion. 

He arrived at Mexico and the Royal Audience opened 
the hearing. For more than a year he was kept waiting and 
finally, in 1563, Spanish justice pronounced sentence, brutally 
ignoring the many services which this magnanimous king had 



THE FALL OF COSIJOPII 303 

rendered the Spaniard and condemning him to the loss of his 
towns, his office of Governor of the Indians, and his revenues. 

This barbarous treatment wounded Cosijopii to the quick, 
but he repressed his resentment and set out for his former 
kingdom. On reaching the town of Nejapa he sustained an 
attack of cerebral congestion from which death speedily en- 
sued, thus terminating his days in a tragic manner in con- 
formity with the gloomy prognostications pronounced at his 
birth. 

While in Mexico he had given indications of having re- 
pented of his apostasy and in Nejapa immediately upon fall- 
ing ill called for a priest to reconcile him to the Church, but 
death intervened and he passed away without having received 
the last sacrament. 

His companions, the six priests of Mitla, better called 
the six Masters, who had remained in the power of the eccles- 
iastical authorities, were tried and being found impenitent 
were relaxed to the secular arm; and whether the venerable 
Cosijopii died of congestion of the brain or of poison adminis- 
tered by his guards, certain it is that these unfortunate 
priests, to the eternal disgrace of their judges, were executed 
in solemn auto de f e. The tribunal of the Inquisition brought 
them forth with ropes about their necks, penitential robes, 
black veils, and scourges in their hands, and they were con- 
signed to the flames. 

It was the death-blow to the religion of the He-Who-Sees- 
It-All, the "It is finished" of the doom foretold by Pezelao 
the oracle of Heaven, regarding Guixepecocha. 

Friar Bernardo reaped little joy from what he had done. 
Doubts struggled within him and gave him no rest. Should 
he have surprised Cosijopii in his palace as he had done, or 



304 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

ought he to have proceeded more in the spirit of charity and 
used gentler measures for his conversion? We marvel not 
that these thoughts should have assailed him; the wonder is 
that they came so late. 

Continued toil for the welfare of the Indians served in a 
measure to divert his mind from these harrassing thoughts; 
but even in the midst of his labors the bitter recollection of 
the past assailed him. Consumed by remorse, his health gave 
way. He removed to Jalapa (which lies above Tehuantepec 
in the mountains), hoping that a change of climate would 
mend matters, and there he died. 

The Indians had received so many marks of kindness 
from the friar that they forgot their resentment. They 
greatly lamented his departure from Tehuantepec and when 
he died, removing his remains to the latter place, gave them 
honorable burial. Verily their heaits were ripe in mercy, for 
had it been thy servant he had not found it in his heart to 
forgive the priest, nay, not even in the last day. 

But a little remaineth and our tale is told. Cosijopii had 
three legitimate children born to him of Zeetobaa, known 
after the conquest as Doiia Magdalena, Don Felipe, and Don 
Hernando, and one natural daughter whose name has not been 
preserved. 

Doiia Magdalena, legitimate heir to the throne of Te- 
huantepec, was in the Zapotecan tongue called Donaji. She 
was renowned for her beauty, discreet, a good Christian and, 
like her father, generous to a fault. Her people loved her ex- 
ceedingly and stood in such awe of her that they humbled 
themselves before her and dared not look her in the face as 
she passed by. Of this princess history records two incidents 
which cast no uncertain light upon her character. 



THE FALL OF COSIJOPII 305 

The fifst is this: On the occasion of the good Bishop 
Albuquerque making a visit to Tehuantepec in 1560, this 
noble lady begged audience of him. The prelate having set 
the hour, she proceeded to the parish house accompanied by 
two hundred persons of rank, dressed in all the splendor and 
majesty of the ancient kings. The bishop received her with 
great benevolence. She saluted him with respect and was 
about to kneel to kiss the pastoral ring, but the prelate re- 
strained her, saying: "Madam, I cannot permit such an act 
from one of your rank." To which she responded: "I have 
come to you that I might thank you for the labors which you 
have undertaken on behalf of my people. In recognition of 
such services, and in their name, I now present you with these 
precious tiger skins, this beautiful plumage, and these jewels 
of gold." 

The bishop accepted the tiger skins only, bidding the 
princess divide the gold amongst the poor. This generous act 
completely captivated Dona Magdalena, who took leave of the 
bishop and returned home greatly pleased. 

The other incident is this: Silencing the voice of her 
just resentment after the imprisonment of her father, she 
gave to the Dominican friars for the support of the church 
the Tehuantepec salt flats; her orchard, a park of fruit trees 
half a league in extent ; her baths, certain springs of crystal 
pure waters which formed a beautiful pool at a point four 
leagues from the city, called Laollaga; and, finally, she set 
aside an ample endowment for the support of the convent. 

As to her brothers Felipe and Hernando, who succeeded 
their father in the government of Tehuantepec, all that is 
known of them is that with neither the influence nor the 
talents of Cosijopii, without that ascendency which the remem- 
brance of great achievements gives, and with no other power 



306 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

than the petty authority conceded by the Spaniards to the gov- 
ernors of the Indians, Felipe and Hernando were little respect- 
ed or obeyed by their people. Their descendants sank into ob- 
scurity. 

And now, son of Abdullah, my tale is told. It were 
useless to follow the fortunes of this noble people through 
the centuries of their oppression. Verily Allah ordereth the 
lives of all creatures by his commandment, according to the 
Writ which affirmeth the appointed term. But no man 
knoweth what lurketh for him in the womb of the future, and 
what the Omniscient hath decreed for him. Nor knoweth 
any man what the Decree sayeth concerning the Sons of Zaa- 
chila. Of a surety it is not written in the Perspicuous Book. 
Nevertheless it is borne in upon me that Allah will not leave 
this people without a witness and that the day of the restora- 
tion of Zapoteca is at hand. Peace be with thee, my brother, 
until we meet again. 

THE END. 



Word List and Index 



WORD LIST. 

Where the accent is not indicated a Spanish word ending 
in a vowel or in "n" or "s" is generally accented on the next 
to the last syllable ; if in any other consonant, the accent is on 
the last syllable. 

Aguacate avocado, alligator pear 

Alcalde magistrate 

Almendra almond 

Arroyo a dry watercourse 

Balsa raft 

BaHo — - bath 

Barrio ward 

Burro donkey 

Caballero gentleman 

Calle _ street 

Cantina bar room, saloon 

Capitan captain 

Carcel jail 

Carrancista a partisan of Carranza 

Cedula „ _.. _ rescript 

Centavo a cent, the one-hundredth part of a peso 

Cerro mountain, peak 

Cerveceria _ brewery 

Chica small, a little person or thing 

Conforme agreeable, willing 

Conquistador conqueror 

Cuartel barracks 

Dani (Zap) hill 

Estero estuary, inlet, coast lagoon 

Exploradora troop train 

309 



310 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Fiesta - feast, holiday 

Frijole ^an 

Guanabana sour sop 

Guayacan lignum vitae 

Hacendado the owner of an estate 

Hormiga „.- ant 

Ingenio sugar mill 

Istmo Isthmus 

Juchiteco - - a citizen of Juchitan 

Loco crazy 

Machete com knife 

Mescal a native alcoholic drink 

Mestizo mixed-blood 

Milpa - ~~ a corn patch 

Oracion prayer 

Pan bread 

Palenquero pole man 

Patio - house court 

Paisana countrywoman, fellow citizen 

Perro - dog 

Peso a Mexican dollar, worth at par 50c American money 

Pitao (Zap) god 

Pitaya (Zap) the fruit of species of cactus 

Plaza „ public square 

Posada inn ; also a Christmas festivity 

Presidente mayor, village president 

Pueblo _ town 

Rancheria stock farm, ranch 

Refajo wrapper 

Robles _ oak 

Salina salt marsh 

Sombrero - hat 



WORD LIST 311 

Tehuana a woman of Tehuantepec; also 

used loosely to designate any Zapotec woman of the plains 

Tehuano a man of Tehuantepec 

Tejocote (Zap) haw 

Tierra caliente hot land, hot zone 

Tierra templada temperate zone, temperate lands 

Venganza vengeance, revenge 

Viajero traveler, traveling salesman 

Zopelote buzzard 



INDEX. 



Aboriginal customs - —.. , 136 

Acapulco, port of ..- 5 

Adamik, George H., 81, 106, 110, 124 

Adobe brick 52 

Agriculture, 172-187; ajave plants, 181; beans, 174; cacao, 179; 
castor oil, 182; chili pepper, 174; coffee, 178; corn, 172; indigo, 
180; rice, 174, 183; rubber, 180; sugar cane, 175-178; tobacco, 

181; vanilla 182 

Ahuitzotl, Aztec monarch, 200, 214; declares war on Zapotecs, 204; 

treachery of, 220; death of -. 226 

Alarii, minister to King Cosijoeza, 199; embassador to Tenochtitlan, 

213; accompanies Cosijopii to Tehuantepec 243 

Alban, Monte, 234, 262, 265 

Alcantar brothers, Pepe and Poncho 35 

Alligator pears 63 

Alligators - 116 

Allison, Peter, of San Luis Potosi 7 

Alvarado, Pedro de, 271, 285; occupies Tututepec, 272; cupidity of, 
273; troops conspire against, 275; arrives at Tehuantepec, 277; 
destruction of Jalapa by, 281; cnishes the Chontals, 281; second 

campaign against Tututepec 288 

Alvarez, Jesus , ■■ 184 

Americans, in southern Mexico, 159-161; number (1919) 163 

Animals, wild, 110-118 

Apiaries • 188 

Archeological remains - 50 

Architecture, domestic, 51-53; homes of the poor 53 

Ariaga (Jalisco) 146 

Arista, port of Tonala 146, 147, 151 

Armadillo - Ill 

Arms of Oaxaca 270 

Asphaltum 190 

Atravesado Mountain 168 

Automobiles, none in Salina Cruz, 23; roads unsuited to, 151 

Avocado (alligator pear) 63, 98, 108 

Aztata, town of, 276 

Aztecs, region inhabited by, 137; invest Quiengola, 205; make peace 

with Zapotecs, 208 



Balsa wood 97, 149 

Balsam of Peru 183 

Balsas, rafts used on mountain streams 149 

Bananas, 104, 160, 185; dwarf species, 104; Coatzacoalcos Valley 

especially adapted to, 185 

Bandits, 27-44; elements from which recruited, 28; insecurity of 

country, 29; method of attack, 29,32; politeness of, 36, 43; the 



313 



314 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

"venganza," 41; summary execution of, 21, 144; blackmail 
levied by, 71, 162; Popenoe's experiences with, 108; attacks on 
trains, 140, 141; strip clothing from victims, 148; favored by 

physical conditions 163 

Bamboo, not native to Pacific plains 63 

Banks, absence of 167 

Barbacues 78-80 

Barker, Wilbur 62 

Basketry 166 

Bathing, 17, 18, 133; public baths, 102; shower baths at hotels, 156; 

"banos dobles," 133; at LaoUaga, 210; Pool of the Marchioness 305 

Bats, vampire 112 

Beans 109, 155, 174 

Bees 33, 188 

Beeswax 59, 188 

Bernardo de Albuquerque, early bishop 294, 301, 305 

Bemai-do de Santa Maria, early priest at Tehuantepec 297-304 

Beverages, 61, 132, 179; "refrescos," or cool drinks, 61, 106; at 

table, 155; intoxicating liquors 132, 153 

Birds, 113-116; Buzzards, (See also names of birds) 58 

Blackmail 71, 162 

Boca Barra 77 

Boj (boxwood) 189 

Book stores, absence of, 24 

Boots and shoes 170 

Boxwood , 189 

Brazilwood 188 

Bread, mode of making 157 

Brewery at San Geronimo 166 

Brick 52 

Bridges, absence of 152 

Brigandage, see Bandits 

Bryant, Capt. George, 115 

Building restrictions 82 

Bull fights : 83 

Burgoa, historian of Oaxaca, quoted, 290, 293 

BuiTos (donkeys), 24; employed as water-carriers 57 

Butter 170 

Buzzards, (zopelotes) 58, 113 



Cable service 152 

Cable station, Salina Cruz 6 

Cacao culture ~ 179 

Cacti, 25, 64; fruit of, 25; buzzard roosts 58 

Calle Segunda Morelos, Tehuantepec 50 

Cambrick Thomas, the corsair 247 

Campanario Hill, iron ore deposits at 190 

Cannibalism, reflections on possible origin of 206 

Canoes, native _ ~ 149 

Cantinas 132, 153 

Casandoo, lord of Tututepec 261, 265, 271, 274 

Cascalote 189 

Cassia 183 

Castor oil plant, culture of 182 



INDEX 315 

Cathedral, at Tehuantepec 49, 54, 294 

Cats, wild, 110 

Cattle, see Stock raising 

Caves, Enchanted Cave on Monapoxtiac, 24; at Tehuantepec, 55, 

65; the Large Convento, 86; bat caves 113 

Cazadero River 87 

Cedar, Spanish, 188 

Celts 50 

Cemeteries, 58; decoration of graves - 61 

Central and South American Telegraph Co., 152; station at Salina 

Cruz 6 

Cerveceria del Istmo 80 

Cetecpatl, lord of Coixtlahuaca 230, 233 

Chacalaca, or mountain fowl 114 

Charcoal, use of, for fuel, - 11, 23 

Cheese, goat, 23, 170 

Chiapas plateau, 146, 147; rye grown on, 183 

Chicapa River 87 

Chicle, obtained from the sapodilla tree 98 

Children 10, 15, 17, 131 

Chili pepper ...154, 174 

Chimalapa mountains, 75; pine forests of, 97; vampires numerous in, 112 

Chimalapas 137 

Chinese 10, 51 

Chivela, Pass of, 75; hot springs of, 165, 191; iron ore deposits, 190; 

marble _ 191 

Chocolate 155, 179 

Chontals, visited by Pecocha, 249; region occupied by, 276; crushed 

by Alvarado 281, 284 

Churches, 16, 54, 55; at Salina Cruz, 16; used as barracks, 54, 135; 
Santo Domingo, Tehuantepec, 49, 54, 294; San Sebastion, Te- 
huantepec, 50; Laborio, Tehuantepec, 54; at San Bias, 59; Santa 

Maria, Tehuantepec, 66; at Iztaltepec, 125 

Cigars 181 

Cities, public conveniences in, 23; arrangement of streets, (See 

also names of cities) 54, 82, 124 

Citrus fruits 103, 184 

Clergy, restrictions on, 16 

Climate, 91-94, 117, 165; invigorating, 91, 94; of Chiapas plateau 146 

Chipperton Island, a story of, 88-90 

Clothing, see Costume 

Coachapa River 190 

Coal, absence of, 190 

Coatlan, town of 252 

Coatzacoalcos River, 73, 74; infested by alligators, 116; traffic on, 
148; fertility of region drained by, 160; cacao culture, 179; 

banana culture 185 

Cochineal, former culture of 99 

Coco plimi - 107 

Coconuts, 96, 103, 187; rapid growth of palms 103 

Coffee 155, 178, 179 

Cohune nuts 187 

Comitan, city of, 146 

Communications, transportation and, 139-153 

Compania Comerdal de Puebla 80 

Concubinage 133 



316 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Constitutional pro\-isions affecting foreigners _ 194 

Consulate, American, at Salina Cruz, _ 6, 104, 117 

Convent of Santo Domingo, Tehuantepec _ 49, 294 

Convento Hill 76, 191 

Copal 183, 284, 299 

Coquitos de aceite _ _ _ IS? 

Com, Indian, 172; the destructive wee\il, 173; manner of preparing 

toitillas, 173; no grist mills 174 

Cortez, Hernando, news of landing of, 256; character of, 262; appro- 
priates Zapotec towns, 285; depri\'ed of, 287; obtains marquis- 
ate, 287 

Cosijoeza, Zapotec monarch, ascends the throne, 199; captures Te- 
huantepec, 202; maniage, 217; attacks Cuilapan, 255; submits 

to Spain, 257-259; death, 290; burial, _... 291 

Cosijopii, king of Tehuantepec, birth, 227; raised to the throne, 241; 
marriage, 243; visits oracle at Monapoxtiac, 253; baptism, 283; 

apostasy, 296; death, 303 

Costume, female head-dress, 3, 42, 129, 130; dress of white Mex- 
icans, 14; Tehuana dress, 62, 125; the huipil gi'ande, 69; male 

Indian attire, 129; dress of Indian children 131 

Cotton tree, _ _ -59, 100 

Cowan, James _ ~ 123 

Coyolicaltzin, Zapotec queen, appears to Cosijoeza, 210; their mar- 
riage, 217; constancv to husband, 222; death, 286 

Crawfish _ - _ 118 

Cubebs ..._ „ - 183 

Cucumates hills, marbles of, _ 191 

Cuilapan, attacked by Cosijoeza, 255; Princess Donaji hostage at, 

265; tomb of Donaji „ 269 

Cuitlahuac, Aztec captain, _ 231, 234, 237 

Curassows _ 115 

Currency, 167; "infalsificable" paper money 168 

Custard apple (anona), „ 105 



Dancing, among the upper class, 14; among the Zapotecs, 62, 67; 

Malinche dance of Huaves _ 31 

Dani Guiati 64, 81, 85, 124 

Dani Guibedchi 49 

Dani Lieza _ _ « „ — JS5, 191 

Date palms _ _ _ „ 106 

De Espinosa, Alonso, friar „ 245 

Deer „ 110 

Deerskins _ „ - - ....„ 81, 110 

Del Valle, Eduardo, referred to _ _... 211 

Delplain, Mrs. Laura K., . .- _ 82 

Democratic spirit of the Mexicans „ 13 

Diaz, Felix, revolutionary leader, _ 28 

Diaz, Porfirio, of Zapotec blood 131 

Didjazaa, 196, 215, 286; last native iniler of, 292 

Diseases, yellow fever, 59; the pinta, 137; malaria, 165 

Dogs, climate unsuited to 56 

Donaji, Zapotec heroine, birth of, 235; given as hostage to the 
Mixtecs, 265; death, 269; tomb of. 269; mysterious leipend 
respecting „ 270 



INDEX 317 

Dress, see Costume 

Drinking places 132 

Drinks 61, 132, 179 

Drugs, papain, 105, 186; Crescentia cujete, 172; balsam of Peru, 183; 

cutebs, 183; licorice 183 

Drunkenness „ 69, 132 

Dry dock at Salina Cruz 4, 23 

Duties, export, on leaf tobacco, 182; on timber 189 

Dyes - 98, 99 

Dyewooda 98 

Dzahuindanda, lord of Achiutla 201, 255, 266 



Earthquakes 91 

Ebony 189 

Education, 23, 134, 135; among the ancient Zapotecs 199, 240 

El Aguila Co., holdings of 190 

El Espinal, town of 84 

Enchiladas 154 

Encomienda granted to Alvarado 285 

Esteros of the west coast 150 

Exchange 167 

Exploradoras 28, 31 

Export duties, on leaf tobacco, 182; on timber 189 

Exports, coffee, 5, 179; dyewoods, 98; deerskins, 110; shrimps, 118; 

hides, 23, 170; papain, 186; honey, 188; onyx 192 



Fauna, see Animals, wild 

Festivities, the posada, 15; New Year's Eve, 17; San Benito's day, 
17; Independence Day, 19; Good Friday at Tehuantepec, (See 

also Dancing) 68 

Fever, yellow 59 

Fevers, native remedies for 97 

Fiestas, see Festivities 

Fish, 116, 118; sharks „ --18, 117 

Fisheries, 77; of the great lagoons 136 

Flax 183 

Flirtation 6 

Floors, tile 52 

Flora, see Flowers; Fruits; Trees; Woods, tropical 

Floriculture 61 

Flower markets 60 

Flowers, 60, 95, 101; Amistad del Dia, 102; bignonia, 101; caballero, 
101; hapanico, 101; jasmine, 101; mata palo (tree killer), 102; 

robles, 101; tempasuchil - 101 

Food, at hotels, 154; cheese, 23, 170; fried plantains, 104; lard of 
the peccary, 111; armadillo, 111; iguana, 116; fish, 118, 136; 
turtle's eggs, 118; tasajo, 169; milk and butter, 170; corn the 

gi'eat staple 173 

Foreigners in southern Mexico, 159-165; Gei-mans, 146; American 
companies on the Isthmus, 159; number (1919), 163; industrial 
con<Utions invite, 163; drawbacks to residence, 165; constitu- 
tional restrictions affecting 194 

Fortifications 29 



318 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Fortines 29 

Frankincense 183 

French blood, traces of, at Juchitan 87 

Fruits, 103-109; 183-187; apples, 78; avocado, (53, 107; banana, 104, 

185; citrus fruits, 184; coco plum, 107; coconuts, 103, 187; 

custard apple (anona), 105; dates, 106; gi'ape, 107; grape fruit, 

184; haw, 78, 107; lime, 104; mango, 84, 104; orange, 103; 

papaw (papaya), 105, 185; peach, 78; pineapple, 103, 186; 

pitaya, 25; plantain, 104; pomegranate, 78, 106; quince, 78; 

sapodilla (chico), 98, 105; sour sop (guanubana), 106; Spanish 

plum, 63; tempex'ate zone fruits, 78, 184; wild fig 100 

Fuel, domestic, 23; fuel oil 4 

Furniture 189 

Fustic 98 



Gambling, at Tehuantepec 69 

Game, see Animals, wild 

Garden vegetables -.- 109 

Garita de Xoxo 262 

German colonists of Soconusco 146, 178 

Ginger 183 

Gourds 99 

Gracida, Manual, quoted 207, 247, 249, 270, 290 

Granadillo 189 

Granite 191 

Grape fruit, of the Coatzacoalcos valley 184 

Grapes 107 

Grazing land, abundance of 168 

Green, Arturo 82 

Guanabana (sour sop) ,.... 106 

Guanacastle ~ 188 

Guano, bat 113 

Guapaque « 188 

Guayacan (lignum vitae) 84, 98, 171, 189 

Guixepecocha, the 246, 251, 253 

Gulabere (mucilage tree), 63; berries used in preparing indigo 180 



Harbor works, at Salina Ci'uz 3 

Harbors of west coast, 5; port of Arista 146 

Hares Ill 

Harvey, Clarence 70 

Hats, see Head-dress 

Haw, giant Mexican 78, 107 

Head-dress 3, 42, 129, 130 

Health, public 91, 94, 165 

Hedges 25, 63, 92 

Henequin culture 181 

Hidalgo, Miguel, uprising under 19 

Hides, 23, 170; deerskins, 110; calf skins 169 

Holidays, see Festivities 

Honey 188 

Horticulture, see Flowers; Fruits 

Hot springs 165, 191 



INDEX 319 

Hotel Salina Cruz 6, 33, 40, 42, 114, 141, 153 

Hotels, 153-157; at Salina Cruz, 7, 153; at Tehuantepec, 56; at 
Tierra Blanca and Santa Lucrecia, 145; menu, 154; black beans, 
155; waiters, 155; bedrooms, 156; baths, 156; politeness at table 157 

Huamelula, town of 276 

Huaves, 77, 218, 285; villages inhabited by, 136; celebrate summer 

solstice on Monapoxtiac 250 

Huilotepec, village of 11, 77 

Huipil, upper garment of Zapotec women 62, 129, 130 

Huipil grande 69 

Humidity, see Rainfall 

Hurst, Morley 33 



Iguanas 116 

Images, in Tehuantepec churches 66, 68 

Incense, of copal, 183, 284, 299; frankincense 183 

India imbber, culture of 180 

Indian com 172, 174 

Indian races of the Isthmus, 120, 122. And see Aztecs; Chimalapas; 

Chontals; Huaves; Mixes; Mixtecs; Zapotecs 

Indigo, culture of 99, 180 

Industries of southern Mexico, 159-193; openings in particular lines, 
166; brewery at San Geronimo, 166; tanneries, 170; furniture 

factories 189 

"Infalsificable" paper money 168 

Inquisition, Office of the 245, 303 

Insects, 117; wood ticks - 56 

Intoxication 69, 132 

Investment, opportunities for 159-193 

Iron ore deposits 189 

Ironwood 188 

Irrigation 96, 172 

Isthmus of Tehuantepec, geography, 73; inhabitants of 119 

Ixcuintepec, fortress of 263 

Ixcuitepec, rock of 2G5 

Ixtaltepec, description of, 124; indigo center, 84, 180; pottery indus- 
try at, 84; bandit attack on, 85; Zapotecan language in com- 
mon use 123 

Ixtle, suitability of for paper making 181 



Jaguars „ - 49, 64, 65, liO 

Jalapa, town of, 47; costume of females, 130; cult of Pinopaa at, 

244; visited by Alvarado, 280; destruction, 281 

Jalisco (Ariaga) 146 

Jaltepec River 74, 75 

Jamiltepec, estate of Alvarado at 285 

Jarana, an Indian musical instrument • Ill 

Jecapezle 99 

Jewelry in common use among Zapotecs 62, 125 

Jicara (calabash tree), 96, 172, 189 

Juarez, Benito 131 

Juchitan, city of 86, 131 



320 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Kapok 100 

Kerr, Graham M 180 



La Zacualpa rubber plantation 180 

Lagoons of Pacific plain, 76, 87; extent of, 76; commercial possi- 
bilities 150 

Lake Roaloo 197, 199, 266 

Language, Spanish, 122, 127, 164; English spoken by foreigners of 
Teutonic race, 164; Mixtecan, 202; Nahuatl or Aztecan, 138; 

Zapotecan 122, 126, 129, 219 

Laollaga 210, 305 

Lard, of the peccary Ill 

Lawns, absence of 99 

Lemonmeyer, Gustavo 141 

Leprosy 137 

Licorice 183 

Lighthouses, at Salina Cruz, 1; on Clipperton Island 88 

Lignum vitae (guayacan) 84, 98, 171, 189 

Lime making 121 

Limes, excellence of Mexican 104 

Limestone 191 

Liquidamber 183 

Live stock, see Stock raising 

Lizards 116 

Lumbering, 161, 188; high cost of lumber 52 



Macaya 188 

Machete, general use of 12 

Madero of the Redemption, cited 247 

Mahogany 161, 188, 189 

Mahoney, Jerome H., 81, 173; makes his "getaway," 142 

Majada Range 75 

Manganese 190 

Mangoes, 84, 104; mango forks 104 

Manley, Howard T., 181 

Manners, Mexican, 10-13, 165; politeness at table, 157; high sense 

of honor 158 

Manta, the female head-dress 3, 130 

Manzanillo, port of 5 

Mapastepec, rubber plantation at 181 

Marble 191 

Maria Sanchez, Breast of 260 

Marimba, a musical instrument 14, 15 

Mariscal, town of, 146 

Market, public, at Tehuantepec, 60; at San Geronimo, 82; at Iztal- 

tepec 125 

Marriage, costume worn at, by Indian women, 130; laxity 133 

Martinez, Dr., of Apizaco 39 

Masahua Range 75 

Measures, weights and, 193, 194 

Medieval conditions 23 



INDEX 321 

Melby, A. A., 81, 124 

Menu at hotels 154 

Mesquite 189 

Mestizos 10 

Miahuatlan, city of, 261, 265 

Milk 170 

Minatitlan, city of, a river port, 148, 160; oil refinery at 148, 190 

Miner springs 191 

Minerals of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 189-193; black marble at 

Convento Hill, 76; iron ore, 189; salt, 190; onyx, 192 

Miracles, at church of Santa Maria, Tehuantepec 66 

Missionary societies, absence of 135 

Mitla, desolated by Aztecs, 201; cunning of its inhabitants, 237; 

burial of Cosijoeza at, 291; abolition of ancient religion at, 296 

Mixes 75, 137 

Mixtecs, allies of King Cosijoeza, 202; war with the Aztecs, 229- 

239; war with the Zapotecs 255-269 

Mixtequilla, 50; sugar factory at, 178; derivation of name 218 

Moctezuma (Montezuma), commands Aztecs before Quiengola, 207; 

ascends throne of Tenochtitlan, 226; submits to Spain 257 

Mogane, 110; coffee culture at, 178 

Monapoxtiac, isle of, 24, 64, 88; pilgrimages made to, 137; oracle 

consulted by Cosijopii, 246, 278, 283; Pecocha disappears on, 

249; summer solstice celebrated on, 250 

Money, 167; "infalsificable" paper 168 

Monte Alban 234, 262, 265 

Morals, 134; sexual, 70, 132; intemperance, 69, 132; honesty, 132, 156, 165 

Mucilage tree (gulabere), 63; used in indigo industry 180 

Music, 14; among the Indians 60, 136 

Musical instruments, marimba, 14, 15; jarana Ill 



Naatipa, Zapotec prince, 225, 290 

Nahuilzochitl, lord of Sosola 230, 234 

Names, personal, 128, 129; manner of bestowing among ancient 

Zapotecs 226-228, 235 

Nejapa 203 

New Year's at Salina Cruz 17 

Newmark, Meyer, 82 

Newspapers, absence of local, 40, 166; hotels do not supply 154 

Niltepec, town of, 42, 190 

Niza Rindani, spring of, 210 

Northers 2, 92, 104 

Nuts, pecans, 78; coconuts, 103; 187; cohune nuts 187 



Oak, Spanish (robles) 101, 189 

Oaxaca City, educational center, 135; origin of name, 200, 263, 264; 

created royal villa, 287; raised to rank of city 288 

Oaxaca, Mountains of, 1> 196 

Oaxaca, State of, arms of, 270 

Oaxaca, Valley of, 196 

Oaxaquena plantation 148, 177 

Ocelot (tigrio) -- 110 

Oil, petroleum 4, 148 



322 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Onyx fields of Tequisistlan 192 

Opossums Ill 

Opportunities for investment, 159-193; factories, 166, 189; tanneries 170 

Oracle at Monapoxtiac 246, 284 

Oranges 103, 184 

Orchestras in churches 60 

Orozco, Francisco de, Spanish captain 263, 265 

Ostuta River 87 



Pacific plains of the Isthmus, 76, 171; climate 91-94 

Paganism, survivals of 137, 250 

Palo Blanco 189 

Palo mulato (Balsa wood) 96, 149 

Pan-American railway 80, 139, 146 

Panela (crude sugar) 176 

Papain, drug obtained from the papaw 105, 186 

Papaw 105, 185, 186 

Paper pulp, available material for 181 

Parkins, Charles A., 31, 39, 58, 79, 140; sage reflections of, 141, 188 

Parks 6, 60, 69 

Passion play at Tehuantepec 68 

Pearl beds 118 

Pecans 78 

Peccaries Ill 

Pecocha, legandary prophet of Zapotecs 247-251 

Pepper, 154, 174, 183; use at table 154 

Periodicals, absence of local 40 166 

Petela, Zapotec patriarch 201, 252 

Petroleum refinery, at Minatitlan 148, 190 

Pezelao, Oracle of Heaven 246, 252, 178 

Phonolite 2 

Pictured rocks, near San Geronimo, 64, 85; at Tehuantepec, 65 

Pierson station 140 

Pilgrimages 55, 137, 250 

Pine forests of Chimalapas 189 

Pineapples 103, 186, 187 

Pinopaa, Zapotec princess, birth, 227; death, 243; cult of, at Jalapa 244 

Pinta, a species of leprosy 137 

Pinates, at Christmas time 15 

Pinon (tropical birch), 63 

Piqui (ironwood) 188 

Pitao, the Supreme Being 251 

Pitaya, fruit of a cactus 25 

Plain of the Widow 285 

Plant life 95-109 

Plantains, fried 104 

Plantations, American, on the Isthmus, 159-162 

Plum, Spanish 63 

Pochutla, city of, center of coffee district, 179; Alvarado visits, 276; 

Mr. Popenoe visits 108 

Politeness of Mexicans, 10-13; of bandits, 36, 43 

Political rights of Indians 136 

Pomegranates 78, 106 

Popenoe, Mr 108 

Porphjrry 191 



INDEX 323 

Ports, Puerto Angel, 1; Salina Cruz, 1-5, 93; Puerto Mexico, 3, 148; 
Acapulco, 5; Manzanillo, 5; Mazatlan, 5; Puerto Arista, 146, 

147; Minatitlan 148 

Posada, a Christmas festivity 15 

Postal service 152 

Potatoes 78, 109 

Pottery industry 125, 136, 167 

Prehistoric relics 50 

Preserves, Spanish plum, 63; coco plum, 107; giant haw 107 

Priests, restrictions on, 16 

Prostitution, not common among Indians 133 

Puerto Angel, port of Pochutla, 1; coffee exported from, 179 

Puerto Arista 146, 147, 151 

Puerto Mexico, city of, 3, 139, 148 

Pumas 110 

Punta de Aguas 143 



Quehuiquijepaa, the, of Tectipac 199 

Quetzalcoatl, monument ascribed to 246, 251 

Quiegolani 203, 267 

Quiengola, Mt., 46, 64; bat caves of, 113; defense of 203 



Railroads, 139; 144, 146, 151; Pan-American line, 139, 146; Tehuan- 
tepec National, 139, 151; the Vera Cruz al Istmo, 144; absence 
of dining cars, 145; branch from Tonala to Puerto Arista, 146; 

projected, from Oaxaca City to San Geronimo 192 

Rainfall, 91, 92, 94; at Tonala, 147 

Real estate investments, by Americans 159 

Reboso, the native head-dress 130 

Refajo (wrapper) 78, 129 

Religion, 16, dress of the clergy, 16; condition of the church, 54; 
alleged miracles, 66; baptisms, 70; faith of the ancient Zapo- 
tecs, 247-253; the prophet Pecocha, 247-251; ancient gods, 251- 
253; priesthood, 296; form of worship, 299; present faith of 

Indians, 135; relics of ancient faith 137 

Reptiles 116, 117 

Revolutionists, elements from which recruited 28 

Rice 174, 183 

Rio de los Mijes 75 

Rio de Perros 80, 86 

River traffic 148-150 

Rivers: Coatzacoalcos, 73; of Pacific plain, 77, 80, 87; of the high- 
lands 197 

Roads, wagon, 151; gullied by the winds 93 

Roaloo, Lake, 197, 199, 266 

Rock paintings, near San Geronimo, 64, 85; at Tehuantepec, 65; 

ascribed to Pecocha 248 

Romero, Dona Juana, of Tehuantepec, 58; endows schools at Te- 
huantepec 135 

Roofs, tile 52 

Rosewood - 189 

Rubber culture 180 

Ruins of Quiengola 46 

Rye, grown in Chiapas 146, 183 



324 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Salina Cruz, city of, 1-26; lighthouse, 1; waterworks, 3, 71; harbor 
works, 3; tides, 4; dry dock, 4; traffic, 5; hotels, 7; 153; popu- 
lation, 10; winds, 93; American consulate, 104; harbor dredging, 

115; cable station at 153 

Salinas del Marquez 190 

Salinas, Lie. M. Garfia, 18, 130; mistaken for bishop of Tehuantepec 85 

Salt flats 190, 305 

San Benito's Day ..., 17 

San Bias, town of, 59, 78; barbecue at, 79 

San Cristobal de Las Casas 146 

San Geronimo, city of, 80-84; terminus of Pan Amei-ican railway, 

146; brewery at, 166 

San Juan Guichicovi 75, 137 

San Miguel 137 

Sanate, a Mexican bird 114 

Sandals 130, 170 

Santa Anita 262 

Santa Lucrecia, village of, 74, 144 

Santa Maria Chimalapa 103, 137 

Santa Maria Guiniaguata, 29; jecapezle industry at, 99; silk indus- 
try at 129 

Santa Maria, Tehuantepec, 31; hill chapels, 55; church at, 66 

Santo Domingo, convent of, at Tehuantepec, 294, 299, 305 

Sapodilla (chico) 105, 188 

Sarsaparilla 182 

Sassafras 183 

Satinwood 189 

Scavengers : 56, 113 

Schools, 23, 134, 165; private, at Tehuantepec 135 

Seasons, dry and rainy 91-94 

Seismic disturbances 91 

Sexual morality, among the Indians 132 

Sharks 18, 116 

Shrimps 118 

Shufeldt expedition, referred to, 49, 73, 130, 150; members of, bitten 

by vampires 113 

Shufeldt nee Harvey, Guendolina 70 

Sickness, yellow fever, 59; native remedies, 97; malaria, 165; pinta, 

137; healthful climate 91, 165 

Silk culture, at Santa Maria Guiniaguata 129 

Sisal 181 

Soap, nuts used in manufacture of, 187; used by the ancients 211 

Sobrino, Pedro, early priest at Jalapa 245 

Social functions, see Festivities 

Social life, in Salina Cruz, 14-17; at Tehuantepec 61, 62, 67 

Social reform, need of 125 

Soconusco, district of, 204; great coffee region 178 

Soldiers, Mexican 20 

Sombreros 129 

Soup sop, (guanabana) 106 

Spaniards, few on the Isthmus, 119; none at Tehuantepec 51 

Spanish language, use of, 123; telegraph messages to be sent in, 

152; best method of learning, 164 

Spices, cinnamon, 155, 183; pepper, 174, 183 

Springs, hot, 191; at Laollaga 210, 305 



INDEX 325 

Stock raising, 168-170; goats, 22; burros, 24; pasture lands, 145, 

168; cattle, 168; tasajo 169 

Stone, building, 191; phonolite, 2; marble at Convento Hill, (See 

also names of stones) 76 

Story, John 71 

Stoves, primitive nature of 157 

Sugar, 175-178; methods of production, 176; panela, 176; the Oaxa- 

quena plantation, 177; culture on Pacific plains, 177 

Syenite 191 

Syrians, at Salina Cruz, 10; at Tehuantepec 51 



Tamarind 61 

Tanneries, native 170 

Tapachula, city of 146 

Tapirs 112 

Tarifa plateau 75 

Tarifa, red hematite at 190 

Tariff, customs, see Duties, export 

Tea, use of 155 

Tectipac 199 

Tehuana, term defined 17 

Tehuanos 51 

Tehuantepec, city of, 45-57; government building at, 32; founded by 
the Huaves, 46; strategic location, 46, 77; origin of name, 49, 
278; cemetery, 58; population, 51; streets and sidewalks, 54; 
churches, 54; market place, 60; plaza of, 60; park at, 69; 

limestone quarries 191 

Tehuantepec River 45, 77 

Tejan (Coatimondi), Ill 

Telegraph lines 152 

Telephones 23, 153 

Temperature 91, 92, 94 

Tequisistlan, battle near, 281; onyx fields of 192 

Thermal springs 191 

Tides, at Salina Cruz, 4; in the great lagoons 77 

Tierra Blanca 144, 145 

Tiger Hill (Dani Guibedchi) 49, 64 

Tigrio (ocelot), 110 

Tilantongo, prince of 269, 292 

Tile, extensive use of 52 

Titles, personal 128 

Tlacochcalcatl, Aztec leader, 201 

Toads 117 

Tobacco 181 

Tonala, city of, 147; port of Arista : 146 

Tonameca 276 

Tortillas, the Mexican staff of life 173 

Transportation, 139-152; troop trains, 28; dangers incident to, 144; 
betvsreen Chiapas plateau and littoral, 147; river traffic, 148, 
160; along coastal lagoons, 150; wagon roads, 151; absence 
of bridges, 151; Vera Cruz al Istmo Ry., 162; by ox cart, 169; 

upper Tehuantepec valley 192 

Travel, dangers incident to, 144; necessity of carrying lunch baskets 145 



326 THE MEXICAN SOUTHLAND 

Trees, 96-108, 171, 172, 18&, 189; almond, 100; balsa-wood, 97; bam- 
boo, 63; Brazilwood, 98; cacao, 179; calabash (jicara), 96; coco- 
nut, 96; copalchi, 97; cotton tree, 59, 100; cypress, 97; jicara, 
172; lambimbo, 100; lignum vitae, 84, 96, 98, 100; logwood, 98; 
mesquite, 96; mucilage tree (gulabere), 63; pine, 97; pinon 
(tropical birch), 63; rosewood, 96; rubber tree, 101; shade trees, 
100; Spanish oak, 97; tamarind, 61; wild cotton, 59, 100; wild 
fig, 100; zapote (sapodilla), (See also Flowers; Fruits, Woods, 

tropical) 97, 105 

Troop trains 28 

Tuna de Espana 99 

Turtle's eggs 118 

Tututepec, Spanish colony established at, 274; colony abandoned, 

286; Indian revolt (1523) 288 

Tuxtla Gutierrez, city of, 146; marimbas manufactured at, 15; 

jecapezle industry at 99 

Typewriters, carried by traveling salesmen 154 



Upper Lagoon, 24, 76, 77; rivers entering, 87; commercial possi- 
bilities, 150; salt marshes of 191 



Vanilla 182 

Vegetables, garden 109 

Ventosa Bay 45, 77 

Vera Cruz, starting point for the Isthmus 144 

Verde River, 87; thermal springs on, 191 

Volcanic activity 90 

Vows, performance of 55 



Wages, for common labor 171 

Wagon roads 151 

Waiters, Indian, 155 

Water-carriers, burro 57 

Waterfowl 114, 150 

Waterpower 189 

Wedding costume, of the Tehuanas 130 

Weights and measures 193, 194 

Wheat 183 

Windmills 172 

Winds, 2, 92-94; ravines caused by, 92; protection of crops from, 92 

Wine 107 

Wood ticks 56 

Woods, tropical, 96-98, 188, 189; dyewoods, (See also Fruits, Trees) 98 



Xocuapa River 87 

Xunirahui, a natural landmark 2 



Yanhuitlan 236, 237 



INDEX 327 

Zaachila I, Zapotec monarch 197 

Zaachila III, Zapotec monarch, 199 

Zaachila, city of, foundation, 197; present aspect, 198; taken by the 

Mixtecs, 260 

Zapotecan language 122-127, 129, 219 

Zapotecs, 120-136; physical characteristics, 51, 120, 121; beauty of 
women, 51, 67, 121; a hairy race, 62; costume, 62, 69, 125; 
129, 130; intemperance, 69, 132; not hunters, 110; nor fisher- 
men, 118; present numbers, 120; agricultural race, 121; racial 
vigor, 122; language of, 122-129; military qualities, 131; mental 
qualities, 131; honesty, 132, 156, 167; sexual morality, 133; 
simplicity of women, 134; moral traits, 134; rise of, 196; gods 

of the ancient, 251-253; priesthood, 296; public worship 299 

Zeetobaa, queen of Tehuantepec 304, 343 

Zopilotes (buzzards), 113; favorite roosting place 58 



3477 



